The Beast Wars
by Ven'aranar Angel
Summary: No one knows what to expect. One army has been vanquished and another takes its place. Surely these monsters are from Hell? (Fourth story in the 'Sea of Faces' series. Genras are action, mystery, adventure, a bit of hurt/comfort, and a dab of horror.)
1. The Beast Zone

_A.N. ~ heyo! Told you it didn't take that long to make a new story! 'Specially if you have a plan for it (sort of)... So, I hope you like this, and please R&R!  
><em>

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS, OR ANYTHING IN IT. I ONLY OWN MY ONs (Original Nouns). Also, I have, on request of Kat2020, put her own OC in here. Guess who it is..._

* * *

><p>Twitch and Kat walked side by side down a corridor, stretching and yawning. Claws, a nexu Kat had found raised as her companion, stalked along behind them, tail sweeping back and forth.<p>

"This is getting boring. When do we get to go do stuff again?" Kat asked. She and Twitch were both girls, which was a rarity within the GAR. Lantana Fett, Jango's sister, had accidentally been cloned. Only a few dozen of the 'flawed units' weren't killed off, since they presented ideal test subjects for the Kaminoans.

A few of the female clones had escaped, the only such known ones being said pair, and one named Spitfire. She had been in Twitch's first squad, but was killed, along with everyone else in Pyro Squad except Twitch and Tail, the corporal.

"We leave when High Command says we do. Unfortunately, they take their time." Twitch sighed.

A couple months earlier, Kat had been injured by a creature ,now known as a griever, while helping the other girl fight it off. That was when they semi-properly met, though there was an incident on a planet called Adion where the rogue had sniped someone to save Zeta Squad from annihilation.

Unlike most commando squads, Zeta Squad had six members. Kat, when she agreed to stay in the GAR, and Darys, an Umbaran Twitch had met.

On finding his mother had, in fact, died during a Separatist occupation of his city, Darys begged Kit Fisto to let him stay with Twitch, as she was 'the closest thing to family he had left'. She was surprised to hear that, and a blush she often wore around the Umbaran had presented itself on her face.

"Time's up. There may not be any Seps to deal with, but plenty of those beasties to fight off."

Order 66 had backfired on Chancellor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious. Though he had escaped, he had managed to only kill one Jedi the day the Order was issued, and that was a Jedi killed by his own hand. The clones, having grown close to their Jedi generals, mostly refused to execute the peace keepers. Those that did turn were either killed or stopped by their brothers.

Now, instead of droids to worry about, creatures of all manners had begun to roam the galaxy, appearing randomly, with no explanation. The monsters were never friendly and always dangerous, with a good deal of bloodlust set inside them.

With the Clone Wars over and the Separatists defeated, Twitch was able to contact Mary and Clara, her adopted mother and sister, both of whom she couldn't speak to for months due to the risk factor. The two women were alright, though worried about the commando, and missed her. The feeling was mutual.

"True enough. I heard a griever popped up in the Senate District yesterday. No deaths, but a few injuries, apparently." Twitch reported. Rumors always spread through the clone ranks, though the older, male troopers had an easier time than the girls.

Private comm channels in helmets and quiet hallways always bloomed a thick grapevine.

"The Senate District! Ugh, I was near there yesterday! Could've seen some action and didn't even know it." Kat complained. The two wandered into the Mess Hall, Claws still in tow. In the two months Kat had been in the army, most of the soldiers had become used to seeing a massive nexu strolling around, so nobody gave the girls a second glance as they got their food and sat down at a table in the back of the room.

Claws lay down behind Kat, curling his forked tail neatly and resting his massive head on the forepaws he often fought with. The nexu was extremely intelligent, able to understand Basic and capable of learning new and complicated things.

"I know the feeling. I was up in Ruby District when it happened. Honestly, how hard is it to send us into the Beast Zone? Small transport, off we go." The Beast Zone was a region of the galaxy where monsters appeared constantly. The occupants of any habitable planets in that area either managed to evacuate or were all slaughtered.

It was a war zone of nightmares. The ways soldiers could get killed was far worse than during the Clone Wars, when either a grenade or laser bolt was the worst troops generally had to worry about.

"You would think it'd be simple enough. What were you doing in Ruby District?" They ate as they talked, swallowing the bland food without hesitation. Military cuisine left a lot to be desired.

"Bored, wanted to stretch my legs. What were you doing near the Senate District?"

"Same. Claws wanted to hunt rats." The nexu let out a loud breath, a common sign of acknowledgment when brought up.

Twitch had, in fact, been lying about her activities. In Ruby District lived a family that she had known for five years. The couple had recently had a baby named Jessie, who the soldier adored. She was visiting them, not taking a walk.

"Remember the good old days where we fought stuff on a regular basis?" Twitch mumbled.

"Yeah. Those were fun times."

"Albeit we had higher casualty rates then. At least they've gone down, now that the clankers are history." Kat kicked her sister under the table.

"Hey, we were remembering good stuff, remember?" She growled.

"Right, right. Proceed." Twitch cringed, already feeling a bruise forming.

"Don't think I can. Sparring later?" They sighed. Since a mission Zeta Squad had been on, three weeks earlier, the two had counted their sparring rounds. They were already on round ninety two; forty-six to Kat and forty-six for Twitch.

"Sure, might as well see if we break our tie…again." They were both evenly matched, often tying with each other every match or so. The farthest either of them had been ahead of the other was by three rounds.

* * *

><p>Tail, Twitch's brother-by-choice and the squad's medic (or scout), was busy attacking a punching bag in the gym, bored just as much as his squad mates were.<p>

Streak, the mechanic, was tinkering in the barrack, messing around with the inner works of his helmet.

Hazard, Streak's closest brother and also the squad's sniper, was at a shooting range the clones had set up, having nothing else to do.

Darys was also bored, in the gym with Tail, lifting weights to take his mind off the lack of things to think about. He was sort of being taught by the other members of Zeta Squad, slowly learning how to be a soldier, protocol, and skills he would eventually need.

Hazard was in charge of teaching the Umbaran how to shoot, Streak taught protocol and use of different equipment, Tail showed him hand-to-hand combat along with the basics for medical care, and Twitch showed him some things that weren't exactly in the training book.

Darys was in charge of his own exercise, but it _was_ a required part of training. Being in peak physical health was often the difference between life and death on the battlefield, so he had to build up muscle strength and endurance.

Kat also had to learn protocol and some equipment use, but her combat skills needed next to no improvement.

* * *

><p>Three full moons lit the city of Theed, providing enough light to invalidate most forms of illumination below.<p>

Perched on one of the tallest buildings was Twitch, eyes closed as she enjoyed the fresh wind that blew the smell of forests and rivers to her. Being out at night was dangerous, since beast activity raised by sixty percent.

There were classifications for monsters, though general categories were more commonly used. Night time monsters, day time monsters, dawn and dusks, and some that could appear at any time, like grievers.

Wraiths were the most plentiful types of creatures on Naboo when the sun went down, but thankfully weren't dangerous unless a pack of them surrounded someone. They were scared off by light, as most Night Beasts were, so carrying a light source was a good idea.

A scream caught Twitch's attention, tilting her chin down as she scanned for where the sound had originated.

Two children were running, trying to keep up with the rapidly breaking street lights. Something was destroying the glass quickly, eliminating their chances of safety at a rapid pace.

The soldier dove after them, spreading her arms out to grab at the leather loops of her black cloak. Her feet slid into a much larger band near the back of the garment. Pressure pads on her hand grips were squeezed and the loose fabric became taut, creating a wingsuit.

Twitch glided, descending at a speed that was likely not recommendable.

Her cloak was a gift from an inventor on the planet Adion, a thank you for her part in the protection of his town from droids.

Just as darkness encompassed the children, Twitch leaned back, letting the air catch and slow her so she landed safely. A wraith reared up, bearing unrealistic, triangle-shaped teeth. Wraiths were basically skinny shadow creatures with glowing red eyes and the size of a seven-year-old.

The soldier shot it, the bright blue light startling most of the beasts. Screeches and calls that were similar to a flock of crows filled the air.

"What are you doing out so late?" Twitch asked, slicing the next wraith that approached in half with her arm-blades. The Night Beasts didn't leave corpses, though they _did_ disappear in a swirl of shadow.

Twitch's gauntlets stretched from her wrist to bicep, and in them were blades that she could activate. The sharp metal came out of the sides of her arms, the farthest part reaching four inches.

"We were playing and didn't see what time it was until the sun was setting." One of the little boys replied.

"What about your parents?" Several more wraiths died, most shot.

"Our house wasn't too far, but the monsters started chasing us and we got lost." Explained the second child, also a boy.

"Where is your house?" The wraiths began backing away, aware that they couldn't fight off Twitch.

"Jungo District, house three nine nine."

"This is Riverport District. You ran a long way."

* * *

><p>It was late by the time Twitch fought the way to the children's house. The parents happily took back their boys with thank yous before Twitch left, using thermals and momentum to gain height so she could fly safely back to the Military District.<p>

She arrived tired and content, walking in with a bit of her boredom relieved. Everyone in her barrack was asleep, occupying five of the six bunks. The girl removed her boots and cloak before slinking into bed, ready to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Twitch. Twitch, you're late. Twitch, wake up!" Kat shoved Twitch out of bed, sprawling her onto the floor with a yelp of surprise.<p>

"What the kriff was that for?" She snapped, untangling herself from the blanket.

"It's already lunchtime, or'dinii. You've been sleeping for hours!" Kat explained.

"I was late getting to bed. Was that really necessary?" The two made the bed before Twitch threw on her boots and followed her sister out.

"No, but I figured it was faster than getting a bucket of ice water."

_She has _got _to be Spitfire in disguise, _Twitch mentally sighed.

_Giving you a rough time, is she? _Tail asked jokingly.

He and his sister shared a mental link, though they had yet to fully understand it. What they _did_ know was that they had to be a good distance away to lose the connection, they could block each other out, and emotion could be transmitted, along with sounds, outside conversations, images, or even a sharing of sight, if they really concentrated. The last of said abilities was fairly new, but by now, it took a lot to surprise the two.

_Rough time? Not really, but I'm going to have to get up early tomorrow and shove her out of bed. _The girl inwardly smirked.

_Oh no, you won't! Not if it'll wake the rest of us up, _the scout retorted.

_Sir, yes, sir, _she teased. Tail had never outranked her, but as a medic, he outranked everybody when it came to their health.

_Just don't have me treating any concussions, _he muttered. When Pyro Squad was still in existence, Spitfire's training with Twitch would sometimes land them in the medical bay.

Shortly after Coruscant had been taken over by the Infecteds, both the girls ended up with concussions.

The Infecteds were citizens on Coruscant who had been driven mad by a disease. It took twelve seconds for the sickness to take full effect, no race was immune, and a cure still hadn't been discovered. The entire planet had been evacuated because of the plague.

_Trust me, you won't have to do that for a long time, _Twitch promised.

_Glad to hear, and by the way, Kat's been talking about the Beast Zone, in case you wanted to actually talk with her._

They broke their connection and Twitch started paying attention to what the other girl was saying, about how she wanted to fight in the most heavily monster-populated area possible.

"I heard there are dragons the size of Star Destroyers. Bet we could take one." Kat nudged her friend.

"Yeah, we'd be too fast for it. A few well-placed detonators would probably do the trick." Twitch agreed.

"Explosives. Always explosives with you." The other teenager rolled her eyes.

"How would _you_ kill a beast the size of a Destroyer, then?" She challenged.

"Cut its throat until it couldn't breathe."

"Speaking of cutting, where's Claws?" The nexu hadn't been present ever since the commando woke up.

"Oh, I asked him to guard our trays."

Inside the Mess Hall, a pair of clones were trying to inch past Claws, with minimal success, too. Completely ignoring them, Kat and Twitch sat down and began eating, earning a couple of bitter stares before being left in peace.

"Thanks, bud." Kat grinned, rubbing the nexu in between his eyes. He nuzzled her in response before settling down in the pose many cats took as they rested.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ Kat and Claws both belong to Kat2020, who also designed Kat's personality and past. <em>

_On other matters, I'll try to post daily, but no promises. Darth Real Life can be a pain in the shebs..._

**MANDO'A DEFINITIONS AND PRONUNCIATIONS:**

**Or'dinii: [Ohr-DEE-nee] moron, fool (affectionate or insulting, depending on tone)**

**Shebs: [shebs] butt, backside, rear, buttocks (also rear of building, ETC)**


	2. Voice Of Reason

_A.N. ~ hiya! Now that I think about it, this story is kind of fitting, since it's Halloween. The content of this chapter also somewhat fits with the holiday. Bye, now!_

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><p>Life on Naboo could get extremely boring.<p>

Night brought the most pleasure available, as far as action went for Twitch and Kat. Being inside the city during the night was bad enough. Leaving Theed could be deadly.

Well, deadly for anybody besides three extremely bored walking armories.

Twitch had her guns, gauntlets, and an electrostaff which she had been given by the same inventor that made her cloak. Kat was packing guns, gauntlets, and was bringing along Claws, who was also starved for action.

"And where, exactly, are you three going?" Tail intercepted them at the door of their barrack.

"Out of the city." Kat replied, grinning in anticipation.

"And what about the rule that nobody leaves the city at night?" The scout reminded.

"Tail, we are _bored_, _armed_, and unless we kill something in the next five hours, _we are going to explode!_" Twitch stated, crossing her arms.

"How about killed? Does that do anything for you?" He suggested.

"Only if the afterlife is any less boring. Otherwise, we'll be here when you wake up." Kat promised.

"Better grab your gun, vod, because you're gonna have a haran of a time keeping us confined." Twitch patted his shoulder. Tail glanced desperately at the other squad members.

Hazard raised his hands immediately. "Oh, no, I'm not getting involved in this. Kat had me on the floor last time I got in her way."

"I'm not one for breaking protocol, but seeing as it's these two, I think they'll be fine." Streak shrugged.

"Last time I upset Twitch, she nearly had my head on a platter. Good luck." Darys smiled sympathetically.

"Ah, kriff." Tail mumbled, moving so his sisters could leave.

* * *

><p>"I'm starting to think Tail was on to something." Twitch grunted, back flipping to avoid the slashing claws of a werewolf.<p>

"It's only a small pack! We'll be fine." Kat would have waved her hand in reassurance, if she weren't busy shooting the advancing creatures.

"Do werewolf bites affect Claws? If so, we'll have a bit of a problem." Claws huffed irritably, ripping apart any nearby beasts with his strong front paws and massive jaw.

"That would be a 'no', though I'm scared to ask how he found that out." They simultaneously shot the final werewolf.

"That was my kill." The two girls said, babbling over each other.

_How goes the hunting? _Tail asked drily.

_Well. Shouldn't you be asleep by now? _Twitch replied.

_Couldn't. Find anything interesting?_

_Werewolves. Nothing too different._

"Twitch!" Kat hissed. The telepathic teenager slipped to her sister's side, staring with wide eyes as a massive black werewolf began struggling out of the ground. Hard white bone formed a skeletal armor around it. The beast's mouth could easily hold Claws.

"This'll be interesting." Twitch muttered. She climbed the boulder they were hiding behind and jumped. She was only six feet off the ground, but her wing suit was already active and she could slowly gain height by going into shallow dives before angling upwards, allowing the wind she created for herself to help.

The werewolf released a deafening howl and swiped at the girl. It suddenly convulsed and threw up a bat as big as a human, which promptly went after the airborne soldier.

Twitch banked, landing on the werewolf's back and running to the hump of its shoulders, jumping and diving twenty feet to finally take full flight.

Kat and Claws, meanwhile prepared to attack.

"You keep its paws busy, I'll go for the throat." She whispered.

* * *

><p>By the time Twitch, Kat, and Claws staggered into the barrack, extremely ready to rest, there was already a visitor inside.<p>

"And you just let them leave?" Anakin Skywalker was saying.

"No, they really didn't have much choice in the matter." Kat said, drawing the Jedi's attention away from the other members of Zeta Squad. Twitch saluted, not bothering to go into attention. Anakin wouldn't let her stay there for three seconds.

"Outside of the city?" Skywalker crossed his arms, glaring.

"Nothing interesting is _inside_ the city. We wanted something to do." Kat was still the only one speaking out of the guilty three, seeming to have an extra energy reserve Twitch was lacking.

"Well," said the Jedi with a smirk, "you two do happen to have extensive experience fighting beasts, and we can't spare any troops at the moment, so I have a special job for Zeta Squad."

* * *

><p>"I <em>cannot <em>believe this." Kat grumbled.

"You aren't the only one." Twitch murmured.

"Relax. This'll be a piece of cake. And really, how bad can a squad of rookies be?" Hazard asked.

"They're calling in commandos to train them, and never ask 'how bad can it be?'. That's just asking for it." Twitch instructed. "Also, I happen to know Fives' squad didn't start out as ARC material, either."

"How did it start?" Kat muttered.

"With the wrong teachers; something we better not be." The commandos were already on Kamino, walking quickly through a rain storm to reach the warm dryness of Tipoca City's military complex.

Inside was a small, likely young Kaminoan who was waiting to show them to their quarters, then let them see the rookie squad attempt the Citadel Challenge.

"This is interesting architecture." Darys commented.

"The Umbaran; he is part of your squad?" The Kaminoan, definitely a young one, queried.

"Yes." Tail replied.

"And your purpose?" Thankfully, the native seemed to be somewhat versed in outside cultures' etiquette and made eye contact with Darys.

"I'm actually in the process of learning, as well." He answered with a polite nod.

"I see. The animal will have to be confined." Kat scratched Claws' head.

"Oh, no. Where I go, he goes." She stated.

"As long as he does not cause trouble."

* * *

><p>"They're spending as much time arguing as they are shooting." Tail growled.<p>

"That's the general problem; they just don't get along." An ARC commander by the name of Twist replied.

They listened to the radio chatter between the squad mates a little longer.

"There's your problem, right there." Twitch murmured, listening to the arguments. The others glanced at her. "They're all alphas trying to turn everyone else into omegas." She elucidated.

"Everybody wants to lead and nobody wants to follow." Kat added.

_That was fast. Suggestions? _Tail asked.

_They're a lot like commandos, actually. There isn't a hierarchy, each member just takes the jobs they know they can do. We just need to make them communicate their plans better and get them to coordinate._

The challenge ended with a beast pinning the last standing member.

"Well, then, let's start with team work." Tail said.

* * *

><p>"Two girls, a cat and an Umbaran." One of the squad members stated incredulously.<p>

"Yes. Also, three of your brothers, which makes a squad of commandos." Kat glared, silencing the rookie.

They were in a gym, which was unoccupied at the time, except for the two squads.

"Twitch, Kat." Tail prompted. The two removed their gauntlets before placing them on the ground and walking twenty feet apart. The commando squad walked to the nearest wall. "Try to pin them." Tail ordered.

The six rookies glanced at each other.

"But…they're just kids." One said.

"Attack, or be called hut'uune." The girls barked simultaneously.

The shinies broke into two groups of three, charging the girls with very unhappy expressions. Kat back flipped and dodged the first punch, then caught the second and twisted the clone so he was a shield. The remaining two tried to get behind, but that only got their squad mate floored and a retreating target.

Twitch, meanwhile, was tripping up and avoiding her attackers smoothly. It didn't take long for the two girls to have all the rookies defeated.

"Can anybody tell me what you did wrong?" Streak asked.

"Yeah, we took on commandos." One of the squad members, Loop, as the mechanic recalled, muttered.

"Kat isn't actually a trained commando. She was only recently taken into our squad. In fact, she's had no teacher for combat." Twitch said.

"And for that matter, Twitch wasn't taught that style of fighting. Being commandos had nothing to do with it." Kat picked up.

"And let me guess. He can fly?" Dally, one of the most sarcastic and hotheaded of the squad, flicked his head toward Darys.

"No, that would be Twitch." The Umbaran replied.

"What you did wrong was that you attacked separately. You went solo in a group fight. If you had coordinated your attacks better, you would have stood a better chance." Hazard stated.

"You make it sound like we won't ever get them." Spot growled.

"You probably won't. It usually takes Jedi to beat these two in a sparring match." Streak warned.

"Or each other, but we're still tied forty-seven each." Kat sighed.

"So what's the point of this?" Dally snapped.

"You're all capable fighters, but none of you are working together. This was meant to prove that. Also, we'll be doing this on a daily basis until you get the idea." Tail said.

* * *

><p>"This is hopeless. How are we going to pass our training if we can't even pass our teachers?" Veil asked.<p>

"We'll be _fine_." Loop muttered.

"Not if we don't shape up. At this rate, we'll be doing maintenance for the rest of the war." Dally growled.

"That's not what's going to happen." Spot snapped.

"There is this thing called _sleep. _Y'know, that thing we need to function properly?" Root called from his bunk.

"Root's right. Might as well sleep it off." Dusty mumbled.

"I'm starting to think the commando was right. We can't get along for five minutes." Veil, always the pessimist, mumbled to himself.

"At least we're trying." Dally yelled.

"And shouting will do us a world of good." Spot pointed out.

"Guys! Just leave it alone and go to sleep." Dusty ordered.

"Yes, _sergeant._" Dally hissed.

"Hey, at least he's not arguing with everyone! Heck, he's the only voice of reason in this entire squad!" Root was extremely protective of Dusty, who was often a target for the other squad members' hostilities, which was one of the reasons they fought so much.

"Well, then, why don't we put _him _in charge?" Dally thrust his hand in the general direction of poor Dusty, who was helplessly watching, wishing he could stop the fighting.

"Why don't we?" Root howled back.

"Alright!"

"Fine!"

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Can you calm down, now?" Kat asked in the doorway, leaning against it with her arms crossed and her trademark smirk present. Claws was behind her, stretching boredly.

"Yes, ma'am." They chanted. The teenager rolled her eyes while strolling in, followed by her feline companion.

"My sister was right about you six not getting along. What I wanna know is why. She thinks everyone wants to lead and nobody wants to follow. I'm starting to think she's on target."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I just <em>had_ to throw in a messed up rookie squad. it was waaayy too tempting ;) Anyways, happy Halloween, and I hope those of you trick-or-treating get as much candy as you can carry!_

**MANDO'A DEFINITIONS AND PRONUNCIATIONS:  
><strong>

**Haran: [HAH-rahn] hell (literally; destruction, cosmic annihilation)**

**Hut'uun(e): [hoo-TOON] coward(s) (worst possible insult)  
><strong>


	3. Attack

_A.N. ~ only two people have voted on the possible Twitch/Darys pairing. One yes, one no. If you guys don't make the call, I will. Can't put their relationship off forever :/_

* * *

><p>A shaking boom rocked the very structure of Tipoca City.<p>

"Attention. A Marine Beast is attacking the supports. All available troops who can fight underwater report to the northern hangar." A Kaminoan ordered over the overhead comm.

"Get back to your quarters." Twitch ordered, snatching up her gauntlets alongside Kat.

"Darys, Kat, go with them." Tail added.

"But—" The girl started to protest.

"You don't know how to use aqua gear yet. Go." The scout growled.

"Aagh." Kat groaned, following Darys and the other already moving rookies.

* * *

><p>Twitch wasn't overly fond of aqua gear, or the breathing equipment, but at least she could fit her gauntlets over the suit. As she plunged into the ocean with her squad and another group of troopers, she could see what was causing the tremors.<p>

The Marine Beast was huge; its body mass could probably cover half of the dome it was attacking. It had long tentacles with suction cups coiled around the pillars supporting the city, slowly crushing the metal.

"That eye looks like the most vulnerable point." Tail said.

"If I had enough momentum, my arm-blades could do a lot of damage." Twitch guessed, flanking her brother.

"Hmm, let's do a Slingshot." The Slingshot maneuver required at least two people. It started with the person who needed to go faster locking arms with another swimmer. Next, they began rotating as quickly as possible, spinning like a cog, usually vertically. Next, another person will line up a short way down the path, and another, and so on depending on required momentum and distance.

Twitch and Tail began spinning while Streak and Hazard got in place. Once the two were at the fastest they could go, they released their grip just as Twitch aligned with Streak. She rocketed towards him and he caught her arms, spinning them once using her momentum, and sending the girl to Hazard, who did the same.

The trick required flawless timing and a good amount of strength.

As Twitch darted through the water, arms at her sides and feet propelling her, she activated her blades. After a few near misses with several massive tentacles, she reached the eye, still at a high speed, and brought her arms up in a cross ahead of her.

Other troops were shooting at the beast, some trying to saw legs off the supports. A couple had already been killed.

* * *

><p>"Aagh." The sound rubbed on her throat before she ran. Kat was in no mood for sitting around while others fought.<p>

Claws was beside her, tail thrashing in irritation. She understood her companion's body language explicitly. The nexu may as well speak Basic when he tried communicating.

_I can't believe I'm stuck with babysitting, _she thought crossly.

Spot suddenly backpedalled, running into Dally, until a domino effect brought all six cadets to the floor. Darys couldn't stop in time and fell on top, while Kat front flipped over them, not bothering to slow down. A griever at the end of the hall was what had caught Spot's eye.

Claws also jumped over the pile of people, charging the beast with his friend, growling commandingly at her. She jumped on his back, crouching and activating her gauntlets. The metal came out in layers, encompassing her hands and fingers like gloves, ending in razor-sharp tips.

The nexu jumped on the griever's back, Kat dismounting to gouge at the base of the metal tail. The monster screeched, bucking with minimal success at dislodging its attackers.

Darys and the older clones hung back, unarmed and unable to help.

"To think; she's self-taught." The Umbaran commented, watching the beast's mechanical tail falling to the floor.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Veil mumbled to Spot.

"I don't think she _cares_ enough to have anybody on her bad side." He stage-whispered in reply.

It was true, Kat didn't seem fazed by any insults or jibes sent her way, only smirked and returned the favor.

Claws ripped the griever's head off, ending the fight.

"Where's the nearest armory?" Kat asked, jogging back to the cadets.

"This way." Dusty started running down the hall, closely followed by the other soldiers.

"What the kriff was a griever doing here?" Dally glared at the corpse as they ran past.

"The bloody things pop up everywhere. Get used to it." Kat replied.

"How, though?" Root came level to the girl, eager to learn.

"Not sure, and frankly, don't care. They aren't that bad once you get used to them." The girl reassured.

"Here!" Dusty called, stopping in front of a double-doored, sealed room. The roar of another griever turned everyone's head to the right.

"Get whatever you need. We'll distract it." Kat stalked toward the griever, followed by Claws. A second of the beasts joined the first. "Finally, some action." She grinned, suddenly dashing toward the monsters.

* * *

><p>Twitch had burrowed into the Marine Beast's skull, finally reaching its brain. She was covered in blood, slime, and bits of flesh, but at least she was in one piece after several close encounters with a few tentacles.<p>

She dug the tip of her flipper into the nearest chunk of brain, shooting as well.

Outside the creature, troops had managed to get its limbs off the supports and protect the metal, though several had had to return to the surface due to damaged equipment, and four were dead; crushed to death.

* * *

><p>By the time Kat, Darys, and the cadets made their way to a safe room, they had fought off six grievers, a pack of wraiths had destroyed a section of lights to attack them, and even faced a couple witches, one of the worst beast types, everyone was injured in some way, tired, and extremely ready to go back to their normal routine.<p>

"Beasts've never attacked like this before." Dusty panted.

"Maybe not here, but I'm willing to bet it's worse than this in the Beast Zone." Kat grinned, a light of euphoric energy in her eyes.

"You don't even take this seriously, do you?" Darys sighed.

"Oh, I take the beast trying to sink us very seriously. The smaller ones, not really." The cadets had to wonder if they would ever become so jaded to monsters. The Umbaran didn't miss their expressions, however.

"Don't worry, she and Twitch are insane. You'll get used to grievers." He promised.

Another witch, this one much larger and meaner-looking than the last ones, ripped her way into the room. A twisted, creepy grin showed her long teeth, and her crazed, wide eyes roved around, looking at the soldiers.

Witches could summon wraiths, werewolves, night beasts in general, regardless of the time of day, they were telekinetic, and had a deafening scream. Claws leaped at her immediately, easily dodged. The clones opened fire, still not hitting her. Wraiths filled the room, their monstrous grins present.

"Deal with the wraiths. I'll get the witch." Kat ordered. She ran at the beast, slashing at it with minimal success. It only laughed at her and ripped pieces of metal off the wall to throw around.

* * *

><p>Twitch got out of the beast's head with a disgusted shiver. The thing was already sinking into the depths. Tail swam next to her, a grin on his tired face.<p>

"That's—" a huge tentacle cut the girl off, running into Tail, then Twitch on its sweeping arc downward. The scout was suctioned to the beast's limb, struggling to escape.

"Tail!" She screeched, a moment before a second tentacle hit the glass around her head, shattering it.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ later on, I'll focus more on Kat and her past. Promise! Old habits just die hard... Sorry for the short chapter.<br>_


	4. You Can't Be Dead

_A.N. ~ at least I'm not leaving you on that cliffhanger for too long. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Icy water flooded around Twitch, entering the rest of her suit. She started swimming after Tail, pulling off the now useless equipment, but someone grabbed her. The salt water stung her eyes as she turned to see Hazard. Streak swam past, going after his squad mate.<p>

A tentacle nearly hit him, too, causing a current that flipped the mechanic around. Hazard started swimming upward, dragging along Twitch, who was getting a head ache from the pressure and cold, and was also thrashing, trying to descend after her brother.

_Tail!_ She cried. _Tail!_

What scared her was that he wasn't replying.

"Twitch, haar'chak, stop struggling! He's gone!" The sniper growled. The girl was getting quite light headed, and her chest was pumping slightly, trying to suck in air through her sealed mouth and nostrils.

She eventually went limp, allowing her brother to take her the last twenty feet. Tears ran down her face as she gasped, breathing deeply. A wave tossed her under, swam off. Twitch couldn't quite keep track of what happened next.

A ship came down, and people pulled her into it, then a bunch of troopers were around her, also on the ride up. Then they were in the northern hangar again.

A griever suddenly landed in the middle of the room, falling from the ceiling and roaring.

Twitch flipped out one of her guns and fired a single shot at the beast, hitting its eye and therefore ending its life. Most people looked from the creature to the girl, who jammed her gun back into its holster before stalking towards the exit, fully intending to go back to the barracks.

It was hard to tell she was crying, as ocean water was still dripping off her and she was freezing, thus hiding her uneven breathing.

_Tail? Tail, please be alright. Tail? _She mentally whimpered.

Silence.

* * *

><p>Kat, Claws, Darys, and the rookies were in a medical bay, getting their scrapes and breaks tended to. Dally was in second worst condition, having an offensive-oriented personality. The actually most-injured one was Claws, who was being worked on by several medics, all of whom were aided by Kat.<p>

The teenager was sporting a broken arm and a myriad of scratches. Taking on a Queen-Class witch did that to people.

"Claws, you di'kut, why did you have to take on a King-Class wraith?" Kat muttered, smearing bacta over a large gash on the nexu's ribs. He only made a guttural noise in reply.

* * *

><p>Twitch showered first, slowly raising the water's temperature to relieve the cold clinging to her, then toweled off and changed into a clean body suit, and finally curled up in the blankets of her bunk, still crying.<p>

Darys, having been only minorly injured, had returned to the barrack, but stopped in the doorway. He had never seen Twitch cry, and certainly never seen anyone with such a beaten down, hopeless expression plastered to their face.

"Twitch, what's wrong?" He murmured, walking in.

"Tail…isn't coming back." She rasped, then looked at him slowly. "I can't do this anymore, Darys." The Umbaran walked over and sat down next to the girl, taking her into his arms.

"I know. It's all wrong. By rights, we shouldn't even _be_ here. But we are. It's like in the great stories I heard as a child. The ones that _really _mattered. Full of darkness and danger, and sometimes, you didn't _want_ to know the end, because_ how_ could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much _bad_ had happened?  
>But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That <em>meant<em> something, even if I was too small to understand why. But I think I _do_ understand. I know now. People in those stories had lots of chances of turning back or quitting, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something." He said.

"What are we holding on to?" Twitch's voice trembled as she spoke.

"The clear sun that will shine when all this is over, when the shadow _does_ pass, and the good will outweigh any bad that's left." Darys whispered.

* * *

><p>Kat, once Claws was no longer in danger of dying and everything that could, had been done for him, lay down beside the nexu, pressing against his belly before falling asleep.<p>

* * *

><p>Streak and Hazard entered their quarters to see Twitch asleep in Darys' arms, who was also asleep. The two clones quietly got ready for bed, careful not to wake their squad mates.<p>

In the morning, Darys woke before Twitch and carefully set her down before waking the sniper and mechanic. The three left without waking Twitch. Kat met them in the Mess Hall, having left Claws in the medical bay.

"Where's Tail?" She asked with a smirk. "Not sleeping in with Twitch, is he? I can't push them _both_ out of bed."

"Tail didn't make it." Streak sighed. That caught the teenager completely off guard. She would have dropped her tray, had it not been for Hazard's intuition and quick reflexes.

Losing a squad mate was something you often saw happen to other people, but never really expect to happen to yourself.

* * *

><p>Twitch woke up, but didn't try leaving bed. She only tried contacting Tail via their link before curling up to cry again.<p>

* * *

><p>"Where're Twitch and Tail?" Veil asked as Zeta Squad walked into the gym.<p>

"_Twitch_ is grieving." Hazard implied. Kat practically threw her gauntlets to the floor before stalking to her usual place.

The cadets were uncharacteristically quiet after that, and extremely hesitant to go near Kat after seeing what she was capable of, along with her obvious need to blow off steam.

* * *

><p><em>Twitch? Twitch, are you blocking me? Where are you?<em> He had seen her helmet break, but maybe Hazard reached her in time. _Vod'ika, you can't be dead. TWITCH!_

* * *

><p>Twitch froze. She could almost feel Tail's presence. Then the crushing realization that she was probably just wishing to hear him set in and her silent weeping redoubled its efforts to make her wail and release the pain in her heart.<p>

* * *

><p>After seeing the affect Tail's loss had on Zeta Squad, the cadets were starting to think more, tossing around 'what ifs', and 'whys', and imagining what it would be like to lose the other members of their squad.<p>

Dusty knew he wouldn't manage without Root. The feeling was mutual. Veil just didn't want to think about how horrible it would feel. Dally had to admit, he didn't want to lose anyone, Loop wouldn't mind being rid of Dally, though he didn't like the thought of losing Spot, who just plain wanted to never lose anybody he cared for.

* * *

><p>Nightmares always were a plague for Kat, but she could rarely make sense of the bloody scenes. The dreams always entailed her killing someone, or people she didn't recognize. That night, she watched in a way that was both in third and first person.<p>

"It's going to be alright, sweety." A woman with tears running down her face promised, hugging a little girl no older than nine.

"Mom, what's happening? Why are you doing this?" The child, Kat, asked with wide eyes.

"Just hold still." The woman shoved a needle into Kat's arm, injecting a cold liquid, before shoving Claws, who was only the size of a young dog, into the child's arms. "Remember, Claws is your friend. Take care of him, and he will care for you."

That was when Kat woke up, unnerved and breathing quickly.

_Who was she? That was the most vivid dream I've ever had. Was that my mother? Wait, no, impossible! I'm a clone of Lantana Fett, like Twitch! But then…why did I call her 'mom'?_

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ of course, I never said I wouldn't leave off on <em>another_ cliffhanger. If you are a LOTR fan, you probably recognized Darys' speech, though I _did _make a few alterations to make it sound more in place._

_Vod'ika means little sister. Not officially, but that's what it's supposed to mean. 'Ika' means 'small', or 'little', and 'vod' means 'brother', 'sister', or 'friend'. And, 'ika' traditionally goes on the back of a word. Thus my logic. Also, I borrowed the idea from 'Scars', by Reulte._

**MANDO'A DEFINITIONS AND PRONUNCIATIONS:  
><strong>

**Haar'chak: [HAR-chak] damn it**

**Di'kut: [DEE-koot] idiot, fool, useless individual (affectionate or insulting, depending on tone and context)**


	5. I Never Knew That

_A.N. ~ guys, I've had four votes on the pairing, two yeses and two nos. I need more people to vote, and I happen to know there are more than four people reading this *crosses arms*. Now, please enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

><p>Twitch didn't say a word the next day, not a peep all breakfast or straight through training. She was also silent during dinner.<p>

"Twitch…"Kat trailed off, unable to remember what she was going to say to her sister as the heartbroken girl turned her tired eyes on her. The sad teenager continued walking.

* * *

><p>The cadets had greatly improved, virtually stopped fighting, and seemed to start getting along.<p>

During their next attempt at the Citadel Challenge, however, something went wrong. Their guns stopped working and the training griever droids started acting unlike their usual programming. They seemed…deadly.

"Something isn't right. Why've they stopped shooting?" Streak glanced at Twist.

"I don't know…" The ARC began checking the control center in front of them, jumping back as sparks burst from it and foreboding cackling entered the room.

"Possessor-class. We need to get them out of there!" Hazard said. Twitch jumped over the edge, leaving behind a startled Twist and concerned squad mates.

The ARC watched in surprise as Twitch glided safely to where the cadets were grouped together.

"What's going on?" Dusty asked, wide eyed.

"Possessor-class beasts. Stay close and get ready to fight." She ordered, handing him one of her guns and giving Spot her other one before unsheathing her arm-blades. A mechanical griever leaped at them, receiving a roundhouse kick to the head before losing it completely. The droid backed off, then came at them again.

"What do we have to do to kill that thing?" Spot gasped.

"Take it apart, piece by piece." Twitch muttered darkly. Two more droid grievers approached. "Split up and deal with two." She turned on one of the grievers that still had a head, attacking without hesitation.

"You heard her. Three people a griever. Two hold the tail while one tries killing it." Dusty, swallowing his fear, barked. Surprisingly enough, everyone did as he said.

Dally and Root tackled and held on to a tail for dear life while Veil clambered onto its back and shot with one of Twitch's guns.

Spot, Dusty, and Loop did the same thing, straining to hold their ground.

Twitch meanwhile, though not armed with guns, had managed to behead another griever and slice off several legs. She soon also took its tail off, leaving a defenseless droid and finding the cadets had managed to kill off their charges as well.

While they were busy with grievers, the rest of Zeta Squad and Twist were busy dealing with another Queen-class witch. Kat sorely missed Claws as she flipped and twisted to avoid flying debris.

"You, _girl. You_ killed my sister." The witch howled.

"And she tried killing me. You don't like that I fought back, you're living in the wrong reality." Kat grinned, darting in to slash at the beast.

Twist tried getting a clear shot with one of his guns, but couldn't quite get a good angle. Hazard suddenly punched the ARC. Streak restrained his brother.

"He's been possessed!" The mechanic grunted. Hazard jerked his head back, knocking his bucket into Streak's. "Not…gonna work, vod."

* * *

><p>The witch had been dealt with, all the droid beasts were destroyed, and the possessive monster left Hazard.<p>

"I'd say that was a fairly successful final exam." Kat smiled cheerfully.

"They've seen more action than some graduated troops." Twitch agreed, landing next to her sister.

"By now I have to agree." Twist nodded.

* * *

><p>Kat returned to the medical bay, planning to visit Claws. She found a somewhat amused-looking medic sitting next to the nexu, rubbing his head.<p>

"Kid, you'd probably like to know something." The clone said as she sat next to him.

"I'm listening." She murmured, rubbing along her friend's back.

"You think this nexu's a male, right?" The girl nodded. "Well…you're wrong." The words were so quick, Kat was sure she had misheard.

"Come again?" She was completely still.

"Your pet…it's female." The medic winced as he watched the teenager slowly look at him. She suddenly burst into laughter.

"I've been Claws' companion for eight years! I can't believe I never knew that!" She cackled.

The nexu flicked Kat with her tail, huffing with an almost angry look on her face.

"Well, in all fairness, it isn't too easy to tell." Claws knocked over the medic with one of her massive front paws, gently tumbling him with a whiny growl. "No offense!" He cried, struggling to escape with a grin on his face.

"It's good to see someone who isn't afraid of Claws. She's really a big pushover if you're nice." Kat patted the nexu, getting tail-whipped again in reply.

"I'd hate to see what would happen to someone who isn't." The medic cringed, finally managing to sit up.

"You mean _wasn't_, right?" The expression on the medic's face made Kat start laughing again.

* * *

><p>Precise, well-practiced blows landed on Twitch's punching bag in quick succession. She'd been in the gym for two hours, reviewing the basics Fives had taught her two years earlier. It was late in the night, as she wanted to have the room to herself.<p>

"May I join you, ma'am?" Someone asked behind her.

"Someone calls me 'ma'am', I start getting a headache. Call me Twitch, Dusty." The cadet paused, looking down to determine whether that was a yes or no.

"Sorry, m...Twitch." He mumbled.

"You'll get used to it. If your squad lands in the 501st, General Skywalker will have you calling him by his last name as much as he can." Dusty took Twitch's continuation of the conversation as an invitation and he started beating the punching bag next to her.

"Probably won't have to worry about that." He muttered.

"Why not? So far, your squad has seen more action than any ungraduated troops since the Second Battle of Kamino. And you're good, too. I wouldn't be surprised if you six ended up in Torrent Company." Dusty glanced at her, somewhat hesitantly.

"You…actually think we have that much potential?"

"I have ever since I saw your squad for the first time. You could easily be one of the best squads out there. You just needed to stop fighting. Now that you have, I'm betting you'll do good." They continued in silence, the only noise being their hands or feet connecting with the punching bags.

Eventually, Dusty thought of something else he wanted to ask, but he was hesitant. Twitch glanced to see his furrowed brow and the tightness of his jaw.

"If you have a question, it's best you don't hold off. You'll never learn anything if you don't ask." She encouraged.

"Sorry. It's just personal curiosity. Nothing important."

"Curiosity is curiosity. You don't have to apologize. Go ahead." The cadet stayed silent for a while, but eventually, reluctantly asked.

"You, Kat, and Darys are…unusual members of the army. I'm curious about that, but I figured you're probably sick of being asked by now."

"It's a common topic. Darys and I met nearly two years ago. A couple months ago, Separatists invaded his city and killed his mother. He joined our squad after that. Kat and I are a bit harder to explain. Actually, Kat can't be explained at all. She has amnesia and can't remember any of her childhood. Only the last six years. She helped me fend off a griever and saved our squad once, before we knew her. I joined the GAR almost three years ago, in the middle of the first Clone War. I was shot and General Skywalker took me onto his flagship for medical treatment."

Judging by the look on Dusty's face, that wasn't enough.

"I see…but you're all teenagers. I know you can handle fights, but…"

"Darys isn't allowed on the battlefield yet. He's still learning. I went down to Umbara against direct orders, and it was clear that either I got to fight or I would leave the army. Kat is allowed to fight because by now, High Command knows there's no beating our stubbornness." Twitch almost smiled. Almost.

"I'm confused. You and Kat are sisters. How do you not know her past?"

"We were separated when we were very young." There was no hesitation in her reply, but the cadet couldn't help but feel he wasn't getting the whole story. "You don't believe me." Her tone was dead, but still sent chills down Dusty's back.

"Yes—no! Sort of. I mean…sorry…"

"It's understandable. You're right to doubt me, and I won't lie; I haven't told you everything. There are some things that I will keep to myself."

"Understandable." Dusty nodded, suppressing a twinge of disappointment.

"But I'm sure you'll figure something out if you look hard enough."

_What, is she a Jedi or something? _The cadet thought crossly. Nothing got under his skin like unanswered questions.

* * *

><p>"Faster." Twitch ordered. Dusty darted towards her with his fists raised in a guarding position. Somehow, the two had gone from beating up punching bags to beating up each other.<p>

"Yahhh!" The teenager sidestepped her sister, who had tried a tackle. Twitch sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Really, you're worse than Spitfire. At least she didn't announce her surprise attack by yelling. Agh!" Darys tackled Twitch, quickly backing off.

"Don't hurt me. She made me do it!" He pointed at Kat, laughing.

"You're forgetting that I'm just as dangerous as Twitch." Kat grinned.

"Yeah, but I'm still more scared of her." Twitch dusted herself off, half-lidded eyes flicking to Kat a moment before she nearly kicked her sister in the head. The spirited girl back flipped before the two locked their forearms together, one right and the other left.

They suddenly spun in coordination apart in opposite directions before going straight into a sparring match.

"Well…that escalated quickly." Darys smiled, watching the girls flip around each other.

"Does this happen a lot?" Dusty let down his guard, standing normally.

"Usually when they're bored, which is a lot, so yes." Hazard replied. Apparently, Twitch and Dusty had spent the entire night in the gym and missed breakfast. The cadet squad was there with Zeta Squad.

"Ohh, I see. Trying to get ahead by training at night, are you?" Dally crossed his arms, smiling mischievously at Dusty. Root clucked his tongue, getting his brother in a headlock.

"For shame!" He grinned. Dusty smoothly got free of the hold and pinned Root's arm behind his back.

"For shame, indeed." The quiet trooper _tsked_.

"What are we doing today?" Veil asked Streak.

"Well, since you six are graduating soon, we figured you could take a day off to spar." Hazard shrugged. "Also, we have little choice. Our training equipment is fighting each other." They glanced at Twitch and Kat, the former of the two slowly seeming to regain her ability to smile as they went back and forth, stealing and retrieving the upper hand.

Loop nearly clobbered Veil on hearing the word 'spar'. Root and Spot went at each other while Dusty sat near the wall to rest. Dally and Darys paired up since Streak and Hazard went at each other, being the only remaining two.

Unfortunately for the Umbaran, he was still learning hand-to-hand skills, so Dally floored the poor boy pretty quickly.

"You…don't seem to be too good at this." Dally commented after a couple more rounds.

"I only joined the army a couple months ago. I'm learning." He admitted.

"What do you know so far?"

* * *

><p>"Ow…" Darys mumbled, walking into Zeta Squad's quarters with everyone else.<p>

"You told him not to go easy on you. We harbor no pity." Hazard sniffed.

"I do." Twitch slightly raised her hand. "Dally has a nasty bite to go with his bark."

"Aww." Kat teased, laughing when her sister slapped the back of her head.

"I'm surrounded by di'kute." The teenager groaned.

"Hey!" Darys and Streak protested.

"Okay, three di'kute."

"Who's the third?" Hazard asked.

"I'll leave that for you to decide." Everyone glared at her.

"I'm starting to miss when you were all quiet." Kat grumbled.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I'll be going on a trip Tuesday to Thursday, so posting will be sketchy. Sorry about that. AND YOU MUST VOTE!<em>


	6. Something Hiding

_A.N. ~ heeeerrres Chapter Six! Sorry for the wait, but I hope it's good enough. It's definitely longer than the last one. As for Kat2020, PATIENCE! :) It'll happen. Some things just shouldn't be rushed, but after this chapter, the story will pick up speed. Promise!_

* * *

><p>It was amazing how the six cadets managed to keep straight faces through the graduation ceremony when they received their medals. It really was a wonder that anyone could look so serious when they were obviously so euphoric.<p>

Twitch and Kat glanced over their shoulders as they walked with their squad to see the now-graduated soldiers smiling and roughhousing.

"Well, rookies aren't so bad after all." Kat grinned.

"You're one to talk, _rookie._" Hazard teased.

"Darys is the rookie. _I'm _the mysterious veteran." She corrected, rubbing Claws' head. The nexu had only just been released from the medical bay.

"'Mysterious' as in 'amnesiac'." Darys shot back.

"Oops, I think we switched the cadets for our actual members. Better head back." Twitch muttered to Streak as the other three argued.

"No kidding." The mechanic grumbled.

* * *

><p>During the return to Naboo, Twitch and Kat sparred, practicing with an electrostaff.<p>

"You two are going to be the end of each other." Hazard sighed as Kat tripped Twitch, who leaned back on her electrostaff before spinning away.

"Yep, but we'll take as many beasts with us as we can." Kat replied, flipping backwards before deflecting the staff and lunging at her sister.

"Speaking of which, I think the beasts on Naboo are probably getting just about too comfy with us gone. Hunting later?" Twitch asked, leaning back to save her head from Kat's claws before kicking and sweeping her weapon in retaliation.

"You're on."

* * *

><p>The girls and Claws had been arguably lucky or unfortunate enough to run into another Alpha-class werewolf like the one they had met just before their mission to Kamino. This one was somewhat smaller, but still produced a massive bat.<p>

Twitch, who was already in flight, sighed before diving toward a river. If anything was clear, it was that bats like the one chasing her were inexperienced fliers, and didn't do so well on the treacherous air currents over water.

Claws and Kat were once again left to deal with the werewolf, which was alright with them. The girl mounted her nexu, who began running at the massive creature. She rocketed off her friend, straight on top of the beast's muzzle.

Claws dodged the massive paws of her opponent before leaping at its neck while Kat blinded the monster. She bit down on the werewolf's throat, chewing as offensive-tasting blood ran over her tongue.

Twitch, having killed off the bat, landed beside Kat and the girls took one eye each, shooting until the beast collapsed with a scream. Claws sat down several feet away, spitting out black blood.

"Great job, buddy." Kat sighed, plopping down next to her friend.

"It's getting pretty late. We better head back before the Monarch-class witches come out to play." Twitch said. Monarch-classes were absolutely too dangerous for anything short of a squad. Even the sisters knew that.

"Okay, back home, Flygirl." Twitch got on top of the werewolf's corpse before jumping off to dive, then slide up through the air, circling to gain altitude. Kat hopped on Claws, who began running after the airborne commando.

* * *

><p>"Twitch. Twitch, this is important. Get your shebs out of bed. Twitch!" Kat shoved her sister off her bunk, but Twitch just shifted to get comfortable and continued to doze on the floor.<p>

"We were out past oh three hundred. Unless the world is ending, I'm not getting up 'til lunch." She mumbled.

"That's in fifteen minutes, but you _need _to come. I swear, this is important." Kat tried picking up her sister, but to no avail.

"You can be a real shabuir in the morning, you know that? Fine, fine, I'm coming." Twitch slowly got up, getting help as she made her bed, and followed Kat out after stuffing on her boots. Strangely enough, Kat led the way to the landing pads.

"What are we doing here?" Twitch grumbled, running a hand through her hair.

"You'll see." Kat grinned. As a ship began setting down, the tired girl pointed a finger at her friend, turning to face her cross-armed, smirking comrade.

"From now on, you are _never_ waking me up after a night like that before lunch. Really, I don't know how you find the energy to…" She trailed off, staring with wide eyes as a trooper walked out of the transport, carrying a duffel bag.

Twitch didn't need a closer look to recognize him, but she couldn't comprehend it. The trooper caught sight of them and waved.

_Tail? _Twitch slowly asked.

_Hey, vod'ika. Did you miss me? _Tail walked toward them, but was nearly knocked over by his sister-by-choice as she tackled him in a hug.

"I don't know whether to kill you or welcome you back." She huffed, eyes shining.

"Well, you already broke a few ribs, so you're a good way on the killing option." Tail smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder as she stepped back.

A torrent of questions entered her mind, wondering how he was alive, how this was possible, what to say and do, whether they should eat, go hunt beasts, talk, and too many other things to count.

"Easy, kiddo, one thing at a time." Tail shook his head, overwhelmed by the flow of her mind.

"Sorry. Sorry. And don't ever do that again!" She tried scowling, but it just wasn't working with such a big smile on her face.

"I don't plan to. Come on, let's go eat and I'll tell you what happened."

* * *

><p>Tail, apparently, just would not die. He had gotten free of the Marine Beast just before blacking out. While he was unconscious, currents pulled him well away from Tipoca City, straight out of their telepathic range.<p>

The scout eventually woke up, close to the surface and just nearly out of air, swam up, and began heading in the direction he thought home was. Luckily enough, a Kaminoan research team found him.

"I was lucky no Marine-class beasts noticed me." He finished.

"Extremely. There was a lot of beast activity in the city. Some Possessor-class monsters interrupted the shinies' final exam."

"That's definitely not good. Kamino was always close to the Beast Zone. I wonder if it's going to become part of it." Tail frowned worriedly at the table. The clones considered Kamino their home, and if it was invaded by monsters, it wouldn't be put past them to storm the planet and take back the entire system.

"You aren't going to like this, but maybe they should start evacuating. Better to be safe than dead." Twitch cringed as her brother looked up sharply, glaring.

"Too many troops have given up their lives for that." He rebuked.

"Suppose nobody evacuated and the Beast Zone _did _add Kamino to its area. How many troops do you suppose would die _then_? Tail, it was only a suggestion. I don't want to fight over something like this." She reached across the table to put a hand on her brother's wrist. He tensed, but allowed the contact.

"Alright. Anyways, what happened after the beast pulled me down? I'm pretty sure I saw it break your helmet."

"You did. Streak got me to the surface. Hazard tried going after you, but he nearly got dragged under, too. Kat and the others in the city had to fight off grievers and even a Queen-class witch, along with some wraiths. The cadets graduated, though."

"Good to hear. They definitely earned it."

"That they did. They actually stopped fighting. Dally and Spot even left each other alone."

"There's something impressive. Did anyone pin you or Kat?"

"No. But they did manage to hold down Claws. That reminds me," she said with a grin, "our nexu is female. One more girl and we'll have you boys tied."

"I'm pretty sure you three have us outmatched already." They had long since finished their meals, and the Mess Hall was nearly empty, save for a few troops with nothing to do.

"Nice of you to say. Oh! Kat and I saw a Monarch-class witch last night." Tail crossed his arms.

"And where was this, exactly?"

"Oh, out of the city, past oh two hundred, but let me tell you, those things look nasty. They're almost as big as an Alpha-class werewolf, glow, and seem to be surrounded by packs of Night Beasts." The scout sighed at his sister's enthusiasm.

"You two are going to get yourselves killed. What were you doing out so late? And fighting Alpha-classes?"

"We were hunting, and that was the second Alpha we've killed, by the way. They aren't so bad."

"You're going to give me grey hairs before I reach fifteen."

"We try."

* * *

><p>Twitch visited Tsudek and Saundra the next day, too happy about Tail's survival to remember to tone down the detail of her trip off-planet. She didn't hide how dangerous or not dangerous it was, just blatant truth.<p>

"You're going to have us grey before our time." Saundra huffed.

"Tail said something like that yesterday." Jessie's screaming gave the parents a moment to recuperate while they checked on her, bringing the infant into the living room.

"She hates being left alone. If there's company, she _has _to be there." Saundra smiled.

"In a few years, I'm betting she'll be the one giving you grey hairs." Twitch let her adopted sister latch onto her finger.

"Probably. So, what about Tail makes him so special?" Tsudek asked. They were snuggled up on the living room's couch, as usual, watching the fire.

"Usually, there are brothers-by-choice. All clones consider each other brothers, but some grow closer to others. In my and Tail's case, we're brother-and-sister-by-choice."

"I think I understand. So you two are close?" Saundra bounced a sleepy Jessie in her arms.

"Extremely."

"Close enough to invite him over for dinner?" The woman suggested.

Twitch's eyes widened as she thought about what it would be like to have her brother and adopted family in the same room. All she could think of was how extremely awkward it would be.

"I think you blew her brain." Tsudek murmured to his wife.

"No, no! Sorry, I just blanked out. Um, er…sure, I'll run that by him."

_Um, hey, vod. Still wanna know where I disappear to every now and then?_

* * *

><p>Unfortunately for Tail and Twitch, night fell and a pack of wraiths went after them on their way to Saundra and Tsudek's house. Twitch had naturally brought her guns, and had convinced her brother to bring his, since they would be returning to the Military District after sundown.<p>

So, the Lynns opened their door to see Twitch and Tail on their porch, shooting beasts, one with a concentrated scowl on his face and the other grinning.

The two backed into the house on urging of the civilians. The door slammed shut, and they were finally safe.

"Hi, guys." Twitch smiled. She had a cut on her cheek and Tail was bleeding on one arm, but they seemed to be alright.

"Why are we not surprised?" Saundra mumbled.

"Because you've grown used to the insanity of this universe?" The teenager guessed.

"I'm pretty sure it's not the universe that's insane, vod'ika." Tail growled, having slung his gun over his back and started putting pressure on his wound.

"True, you are pretty crazy." She smirked while taking off her boots, one hand catching the blood seeping from her cheek.

"Welcome to our home, Tail. I'll grab some bandages." Tsudek lumbered off.

"That was Tsudek, and I'm Saundra. Jessie is in the dining room." The wife shook her guest's hand, though the gesture was somewhat awkward on the soldier's part.

"Tail. Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Well," she chuckled, "aren't you polite? Come on, dinner is almost ready. Tsudek will have you patched up in no time."

* * *

><p>The food was plentiful in both amount and taste, either salty or sweet or juicy. There was very little talk and more than any meal's fair share of glances and off-beat comments. Twitch was seriously beginning to regret bringing her brother.<p>

_So you came here. No wonder, the food's great, _Tail joked.

_I don't come for the food. Saundra and Tsudek are close friends, _Twitch replied quietly, relaying the day she had met the couple and their daughter, then other instances when they had seen each other.

_Wait, you're hiding something…_ The scout raised a figurative eyebrow.

_They had a daughter before Jessie, but I don't think I can keep a straight face while talking about her right now. I'll explain on the way back._

"So, Tail, what do you do? Mechanic, sniper?" Tsudek finally broke the silence.

"I used to only be a scout, but I'm also a medic, now." He replied.

"Hmm, we'll have to talk techniques later." The husband grinned. Twitch could sense Tail's confusion.

"Tsudek is a doctor." She explained.

"Ah. We should, then." The scout nodded. The conversation died after that, which was no surprise, but still uncomfortable.

"So what has your squad been up to, lately? Not too much trouble?" Saundra glanced at Twitch, an 'I'm going to bust you' smirk present.

"Can't say too much about recently. I was separated during our mission to Kamino. We were training some cadets when a Marine Beast attacked. It knocked me out and dragged me down. Woke up a good distance from the city. The others finished training and came back here."

"My, sounds…_dangerous_." Mrs. Lynn didn't look at Twitch again, but it was clear her words were directed at the teenager.

"It can be, if you don't know what you're doing." The medic replied carefully. Twitch silently sighed, wishing her friends weren't so protective.

Jessie yawned, finished smearing food all over herself. Careful not to wake the baby, Saundra gently wiped away the goop with a napkin.

* * *

><p>Tail and Twitch walked silently through the city. Their footsteps were whispers as their minds spoke.<p>

_You were going to tell me about their first daughter?_ Tail prompted.

_Aris. She was a lot like my little sister. A very sweet child. Jeph targeted her to get back at me for stopping his plan to blow up the city. He killed her and carved messages into her arms, then had his lackeys leave her body where I could find her. _Twitch was glad they were using their minds to speak, because her voice by then would have broken.

The back of her throat ached as she tried to hold in a sob.

_Echo, Fives, and I caught Jeph and two of his friends, but that didn't bring Aris back._ Twitch remembered when she had wrestled with the little girl, who had her wide bright eyes crinkled as she laughed. That was the breaking point and she began crying.

Tail wrapped an arm around his sister as they walked, transmitting a sense of comfort.

* * *

><p>Kat woke up with a gasp, hyperventilating. She steadied her breathing, glared at the sheets, then got out of bed. Darys was woken by the slight noise as the girl began stuffing her things into a duffel bag with one hand and waking Claws with the other.<p>

"Kat, where are you going?" The Umbaran hissed.

"To get answers." She replied, walking out the door.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ okay, the next chapters are going to be centered around Kat, which is about due, anyways. Hope you have a nice daynight!_

**MANDO'A DEFINITIONS AND PRONUNCIATIONS: **

**Shabuir: [SHAH-boo-EER] extreme insult (jerk, but much stronger)  
><strong>


	7. IMPORTANT

Hey, so just a little note in case some of you guys aren't reading my usual author notes. First, you should always read any notes I leave at the beginnings or ends of chapters. They can be important.

Second, in one of the notes, I asked you guys to vote on whether Twitch and Darys should pair up. I've gotten four votes, two yes, and two no. And please don't vote twice in an attempt to fool me. It won't work.

If the tie remains and nobody votes, I will make the call for you. This is not a threat, only a statement of fact. Those who have already voted are Kat2020, CaylithTheGolden, someone who wasn't logged in (not an author's name), and westwillz. Thank you for voting.


	8. Remorseless

_A.N. ~ sorry for the wait. Had a bit of writer's block. Oopsie... Anyways, seven chapters means another disclaimer._

_I do not own Star Wars, only my ONs. Anything that I did not create belongs to the brilliant man, George Lucas. Period._

* * *

><p>Kat and Claws stalked down a network of alleyways. The girl had an emotionless expression, coupled with a furrowed brow. They were on Mandalore, heading to a little house that Kat had seen in one of her nightmares.<p>

"Rrrgh?" Claws nosed her friend worriedly.

"I know they're going to look for us. That's why we're doing this quickly and discretely." She patted her companion's head. The nexu only huffed, irritated at Kat's behavior.

They came to the back of the building and Kat knocked. A Duros opened the door. The soldier instantly recognized him as the man who had taken her away from her 'mother'. She grabbed the blue-skinned person by his neck and practically tossed him to the other side of the alleyway.

"You! Who are you? What happened? Why did you take me and Claws?" Kat snarled. The Duros tried to run, but Claws pinned him quickly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He shouted. The girl stomped over, grabbed his chin, and forced eye contact.

"Golden eyes are pretty strange for humans, so look closely and see if _this _jogs your memory." She pointed a finger in the general direction of her eyes.

"Golden eyes and black hair…" The alien mused.

"You remember something? Do tell, because _I happen to have amnesia_!" Kat growled.

"Yes, you do, little hunter." That caught her off guard.

"Hunter?" She murmured. A child's scream echoed in her mind and she staggered back, clutching her head.

"It's coming back to you, isn't it? In dreams?" The Duros asked.

"More like nightmares. What did I forget?" She sat down with a groan.

"You were raised as a bounty hunter. You actually were one of the deadliest and most feared." The man explained.

"Deadly? I was nine!"

"You rivaled Lantana Fett for the title of 'The Golden-Eyed Demon'. No job was too much for you, regardless of your age. You were active for three years. Almost put other bounty hunters out of business, too."

"What?! I should have been on Kamino when I was six! Even my ninja sister didn't get out of there 'til she was ten!"

"When you were three, a woman was visiting Kamino and happened to find you. She took you off-planet and raised you as her daughter. I was a friend of hers and began teaching you in the ways of a bounty hunter. Unfortunately, my cousin got sick of rivalry from a child."

"The night I got amnesia. My mom injected me with something." Claws had let the Duros up and they sat next to the girl.

"Yes. I told her to. For you to be safe, you had to leave the bounty hunting side of your life behind. But the injection only blocked your conscious memories. The ability to fight and anything that was general knowledge to you came naturally, but faces and names did not."

"So I was a bounty hunter. Someone else in the business got sick of competition and decided to end it. But if that's true, how did I escape?" The Duros walked into the building and returned several minutes later, holding a syringe.

"This will unblock your memories. May I inject you?" Kat eyed it suspiciously.

"Claws, if anything bad happens, eat him." She ordered, allowing the man access to her neck.

"You will fall unconscious, and everything will be there for you to remember when you wake up."

"Wait, what's your name?" She asked as he injected her.

"Tal Bane." A chill ran down Kat's spine as she began slipping into darkness. Tal was Mando'a for blood.

* * *

><p>"How would <em>I<em> know where she went? She never told me about her old hiding places, and frankly, she couldn't!" Twitch snapped, glaring at Darys. Zeta Squad had been arguing about what to do since everyone woke up.

"You're practically a ninja, and I know you're capable of tracking people down." The Umbaran reminded.

"You're forgetting that Kat is also experienced at hiding. She and Claws obviously don't want to be found, and if this has something to do with Kat's past, she won't want us searching for her!" Twitch yelled.

"What makes you so sure?" Darys shouted back.

"Because I know her enough to say so, and we both don't want people poking into our personal affairs. Really, I thought you'd know better than this!"

"Enough!" Tail, Streak, and Hazard all howled, sick of listening to the argument.

"Kat went rogue. That's bad enough without us not knowing where she is! Fighting over it won't solve this!" Tail growled.

"Kat doesn't want us to follow her. If she did, she would have left a note or told someone. She'll come back once she gets what she left for." Twitch crossed her arms, as though to barricade herself from the idea of following her sister.

"We can't just ignore this, Twitch! Deserting might seem fine to you, but it isn't!" Streak's voice was slowly rising as well.

"_I was_ a deserter, remember?_ I was one_. I _know_ it isn't alright!"

"Then why were you one?" Hazard demanded.

"I HAD NO CHOICE!" The girl thundered. "I didn't get to choose, just like Kat doesn't right now."

"What do you mean, 'she has no choice'? She had choices!" Darys snapped.

"No, she didn't. She's been having nightmares for years, and they're finally just too much for her. If she doesn't get to the bottom of what's causing them, she's going to go insane!" Twitch stalked out of the room, at the limit of her tolerance for other people's words.

* * *

><p>Kat woke up with tears in her eyes. A crushing sense of guilt weighed her shoulders into a slump.<p>

"Oh, Force. What have I done?" She groaned, burying her face in Claw's side. The sun was setting, casting shadows to counter the golden light of its dying rays. Tal was sitting cross legged against the far wall.

"You killed many, but now look at yourself; fighting to save lives." He comforted.

"I KILLED CHILDREN!" She wailed. "I killed people as young as I was and I did it without remorse! I'm a murderer." Her voice dropped on the last three words. Claws nosed her with a sad purr.

"You did. And you must face that. They were your quarry and you were the hunter. They were your prey!" Kat darted to the Duros and pressed him against the wall in a chokehold.

"You raised me to kill without hesitation. I still have that ability. But I won't use it. I just want one thing." She put her cheek text to Tal's and whispered the next words. "Who. Killed. My. Mother?"

* * *

><p>"Twitch? Wrong, what is? Sense your anger, from the other side of the district I could." Yoda hobbled toward the girl. She was sitting on a railing of the northern communications tower, nearly sixty feet in the air.<p>

"I happen to remember you and the other Jedi tried breaking down my barrier. This is what happens when I let it crumble. Happy now?" She muttered.

"You are not. Troubling you, what is?" Twitch sighed.

"Honestly, I don't trust you enough to start telling you the problems of my day. But I'm sure you could just mind trick me into telling you, since I've let my guard down."

"At me, directed your anger is not. Who, then, at the end of your anger, unfortunate enough to be in such a position is?"

"All due respect, sir, I came up here to be alone."

"Did you, now? Hmm, then I suppose, incorrect, my senses are." Yoda sat down and began meditating. Twitch couldn't even hear his breathing, but the Jedi master's presence continued to bother her.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine, suppose then that everyone is assuming something about another type of person. They assume they know all there is to know about the other people, but they're dead wrong. They don't know what it's like for those other people and don't know how hard things are for them." She hesitated, still doubtful of the alien.

"Go on, you should. Lay out your frustrations, and blown away, they will be by the wind." That was all the encouragement Twitch needed. That high up, with the strong wind, no one would hear her.

"How can they think that those people are bad? I know, some of them can't be justified, but most couldn't help it! Why are they looked down on, anyways? They aren't cowards, and they _aren't_ weak. They can't hold out or have no choice, so why does everyone have to look at us badly? We couldn't help being forced to leave! And it's not like we didn't come back! So why do they think she won't come back a second time? Why does everybody hate us?!" By the end of her rant, Twitch was out of breath and her emotions out of control.

She collapsed into a kneel, struggling to stop the tears running down her face, but was too weak to reach up and wipe away the moisture. Yoda walked over to the sobbing girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"These people. Deserters, they are, are they not?"

"We couldn't help it! Kat has had two years' worth of sleep in the last six because of her nightmares, and Spitfire and I had to choose between desertion and going back to Kamino. We had no choice!"

"True, necessary your decisions were. But Kat, gone, she is?"

"The nightmares. I have them, too, but every time I wake up in the night, she's up, or not even in the room. She hasn't had a decent sleep for the two months she joined he GAR. She left last night looking for answers. She left to figure out what happened before she got amnesia."

* * *

><p>Kat and Claws looked around the ship they were in. It was bound for Alderaan, where they would start tracking down Cad Bane.<p>

"We'll deal with him, then we can go back." The teenager promised. Claws only growled in reply. "Hey, this is important! You don't have amnesia, you _know _what he did to mom. What he did to our mom."

The nexu swatted her friend with her tail.

"Fine! Pout! Be upset. I don't know what you expect me to do."

* * *

><p>Twitch regained her composure quickly, and found that Yoda had been meditating just one foot in front of her. She considered leaving, but that didn't feel right. Eventually, the girl crossed her legs and closed her eyes, breathing in and out steadily.<p>

Little did she know, the Jedi opened one eye to peek as soon as her own were shut. A smile crept over the smaller of the two's face, and he returned to meditating.

By the time the sun was setting, Twitch was completely calm. But something was off. She wasn't only calm, Yoda could sense she was…empty. Her emotions had been blocked off.

"Help you, it will not, to resist your feelings." He stood as she walked away.

"Despair-class demons will be out soon. If I allow myself to feel what I want to feel, I won't be breathing when the sun comes up."

Despair-class beast, more often called demons, were much like wraiths, except that they exploited people's grief or unhappiness. If the demon entered them, and the person couldn't fight it off, the monster would take hold until its victim either committed suicide or died from the crushing despair alone.

"Hmm," Yoda hummed once she was gone, "with the Force, strong she is. Not a Jedi, but not separate from one."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ no, this doesn't mean Twitch is a Jedi. And she doesn't get a lightsaber! Just putting that thought out of your heads ;) Anyways, I'll do what I can to get the next chapter up quickly. Until then, goodbye!<em>

**MANDO'A DEFINITION AND PRONUNCIATION:**

**Tal: [tahl] Blood**


	9. Just As Much A Demon

_A.N. ~ I am SOO sorry for the wait! First writers' block, then company...sorry. As for the trip I was going to be taking this week, the date was pushed up to Friday and I will be back on Sunday. Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

><p>Tail looked at Twitch somewhat wearily as she entered the barrack. Earlier, she had been radiating emotions that told him he had to have a death wish to push her. Now he couldn't feel anything coming from her.<p>

_Can I approach you without losing my head? _He timidly asked.

_Tail, no matter how angry I am, I will _never_ seriously hurt you, _Twitch promised.

_SERIOUSLY?! _She almost laughed at her brother's exaggerated tone; his method of making her feel better through humor.

_Why _do _you want to approach? We aren't hugging, are we? _The girl was slightly suspicious as she walked up to Tail. He suddenly swatted her head once she was in range.

"Ai!" She yelped. "What was that for?"

"The squad down the hall came to see if bloody murder was being committed after you left. I already smacked everybody else." Twitch quickly flicked the scout's forehead.

"Only fair that you get hit, too. You yelled as much as we did."

"Weellll…" Darys didn't risk continuing the sentence with a golden scowl directed straight at him.

"Fair enough. Can we discuss your sister quietly, now?" Streak and Hazard glanced irritably from the bunk they were perched on, in the middle of a sabacc game.

"Okay, but I'm telling you, we should let her be. She _will _come back." Twitch crossed her arms.

"What makes you so sure? Desertion isn't usually temporary." Hazard scoffed.

"This is _Kat_. Nearly nothing about her is _usual_." The girl reminded. "Besides, if she wanted to leave, she would have done it long ago."

* * *

><p>Cad Bane wasn't that hard to find. After a little asking around in the rowdy bars, Kat discovered his favorite one by talking to multiple bartenders. All she had to do was wait for him to show up. Claws was hiding out back, since a nexu tended to bring unwanted attention in small buildings.<p>

Finally, the Duros bounty hunter came in, and didn't really notice the teenager until he sat next to her.

"Golden eyes in humans are pretty unusual, so I'm sure you remember me. And don't mistake me for my sister." Kat didn't even glance at him as she gulped a shot of clear liquid. Bane looked her over, hand already sliding to his hip. Unfortunately for him, his gun was missing, pick pocketed by the girl. "Also, I should mention I'm not happy with you.

"I don't want to get kicked out of here. Let's take this outside." Cad kept a hand on his other gun as they walked out the door and behind the building. Just as the hunter began drawing his weapon, Claws landed on him, pinning his hands under her paws.

"You're a monster, you know that? It's understandable that you came after me, but then you went after my mother? A defenseless civilian?!" Kat drew her guns and prepared to fire.

"You were in the way, and then she got between me and my problem. That made her a problem, too."

"You could have knocked her out! Or stunned her, or paralyzed her…you could have done something different!" She yelled.

"I didn't feel like it." Bane launched an electrified string into Claws' face, drawing a screech as she leaped back. Kat shot, narrowly missing Cad's head. She did, however, scorch two holes into his hat. That, of course, crossed a line, though.

They shot and ran back and forth, Claws waiting for a chance to attack without getting killed. By the time a window of opportunity opened for her, the teenager and Duros were coated in sweat, panting, and running low on ammo.

The nexu leaped on top of her enemy, biting at his neck and slashing at his chest. She gouged into Bane's skin, leaving three bloody trails and green blood on her claws for the effort. Kat darted in and grabbed Cad's hands so he couldn't shoot or fend off any more attacks.

"I guess you're just as much a demon as Fett. And just as much a murderer." He spat.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." Kat, however, was still Kat, and her luck was the same as always. Bad things always had to happen to her, especially at the worst times. Claws was a moment away from killing the bounty hunter when a griever decided to pop up and attack.

"Haar'chak!" Kat howled as the three of them dove away from the monster.

"Better luck next time, kiddo." Bane flicked a couple of his fingers in a mocking salute while flying away with his boot rockets.

_So close. We were so kriffin' close!_

* * *

><p>Twitch eventually managed to convince the rest of Zeta Squad to let Kat be, though even Tail wasn't too happy with her. She kept catching the others giving her irritated scowls until she got sick of it and left to practice her hand-to-hand skills alone.<p>

Somewhere in the city, there were a bunch of wooden posts with flat tops, about fifty square feet of them, and that was a perfect place for Twitch to train, since she took the precaution of bringing her cloak.

Little did she know, the 659th was on Naboo for shore leave, and a few months earlier, Keeli had happened to find the posts as well, and used them.

To say that Twitch was surprised at seeing her former CO standing with crossed arms behind her was an understatement.

She nearly lost her footing, and fell backward, so she had to land in a bridge, precariously balancing over the thirty foot drop.

"Captain! If you wanted me dead, you could've brought a gun." She grunted, pushing off her feet, balancing on her hands, and landing on all fours, right side up before standing.

"Didn't know you were up here. I take it you come here a lot?"

"Not recently, but I have made this a bit of a habit. Do you?"

"Every now and then." An awkward silence followed, and eventually the two nonverbally agreed to split the posts in half. By the time they spoke again, the sun was starting to set.

"You've been making a lot of mistakes. Unusual." Keeli commented. Twitch had, in fact, been losing her balance frequently, slouching into bad form during her attacks, and seeming to put next to no effort into kicking and punching.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm _really _not in the mood for a lecture." The commando snapped. He just crossed his arms with a rather prompting eyebrow raise. She silently scowled at him while wondering why she had done that and how to take it back with at least some dignity.

Eventually, Twitch broke eye contact, still pinned by the captain's unrelenting gaze.

"Kid, what's wrong?" Keeli couldn't recall the last time Twitch had looked so preoccupied, and he'd never seen her act like a…well, like a _teenager_.

_That's what _I'd _like to know, _Tail growled.

_Out of my head, _Twitch ordered. She didn't know what to say to the older clone, and frankly didn't want to have to explain it. Keeli just sat down and watched the sunset as the girl figured herself out.

_Tell him, leave, don't say anything and stay…I wonder if he'd hold it against me if I pushed him over the edge…_ She finally sat down with a breathed curse.

Dusk light encompassed the soldiers, giving the feeling that they were the only beings in existence. Maybe it was that sense of seclusion that encouraged her, perhaps it was her trust and respect for the captain, but Twitch finally started talking.

"Remember…how I was a rogue for three years?" Keeli glanced at her, somewhat surprised she would bring such a topic up, but nodded anyway. "I didn't actually really have much of a choice. It was either turning into a rogue, or going to a bad place."

"And you obviously wanted to stay away from that place. What's this about?" The girl sighed before taking the plunge.

"My sister has amnesia and nightmares have kept her up a lot. She left recently to find out what happened before she lost her memories. In short, the rest of my squad is thinking of her as a deserter. She had to go. She hasn't had a good sleep in years, but they want to track her down and really aren't happy. I just wish they'd have an open mind to 'desertion'. She'll come back. I'm sure of it. They just aren't."

"So you're trying to defend your sister and her choice to leave, but they aren't seeing how it's a good thing." Keeli reasoned.

"That's about everything in a nutshell, but I also want them to understand that not all desertion is bad. I know it isn't always right, but come on, not even a few scenarios can be left alone?" The almost whiny tone of a teenager was too much for Keeli's self-control and he released a huff of amusement, getting an irritated scowl in return.

"I'm not too partial to deserters, either, but I do remember one saved my shebs on a certain planet. And that she nearly became my second in command a few times." Twitch nearly fell off her post at that.

"Come again?" She slowly blinked.

"'Course, your age was a problem, what with you being only thirteen, but I really wasn't that surprised to hear about you getting promoted to sergeant. On topic, though, your squad will come around or get over it eventually. Maybe try explaining it without a raised voice."

"How did you—"

"Your temper is short enough without everybody giving your sister a hard time. Yelling from you is nothing new to me."

* * *

><p>Kat prepared to jump from Claws' back. They were pursuing Bane on rooftops, and gaining on him. Not many people could outrun a nexu, after all.<p>

Just as they drew level to the Duros, Kat jumped from her friend's back and tackled him, clawing with her gauntlets and even going as far as head-butting him. They tumbled right off the roof, landed on a few dumpsters, and rolled onto the ground, still locked together.

Claws bit one of Cad's hands off next time he drew it back to throw a punch, giving the girl time to pull out a gun and shoot him in the chest. He collapsed and Kat checked his rapidly weakening pulse.

"I'll let the rats eat your corpse." She spat, grabbing his hat while clambering onto Claws' back. "Let's go home, buddy."

* * *

><p>Twitch back flipped while blocking to more attacks. She and Keeli had stayed out too late, and fighting their way to the Military District seemed like the only option.<p>

"So have you thought about my offer?" The captain asked, shooting with the guns his sister had lent him.

"It's been only five minutes. Besides, I like concentrating on the beasts trying to kill us." Wraiths weren't so much of a big deal _unless _they surrounded you, then they were dangerous. Of course, the two clones had bad enough luck to get surrounded by a massive group.

It took them almost ten minutes to chase off the monsters, and three hours to make it back. At the door to the complex, Keeli crossed his arms and looked at Twitch expectantly.

"Hhh, Tail can be a jerk, but he's still my brother-by-choice." She stated.

"And you think you'd have to leave him behind to do this?" The older clone guessed.

"Wouldn't I?"

"I could always ask for all of Zeta Squad."

* * *

><p>Twitch didn't tell the rest of the squad, in case they got upset, but she did tell Tail, who seemed to be getting over earlier arguments and started acting normally.<p>

_We aren't really in any battalion right now, and you've told me that Keeli and Ghynna are good leaders. This is good. Especially what Keeli is offering you, _the scout said.

_I guess, but I'm worried about the others. Darys especially. The guy is…_

_An easy target. No kidding. It's like throwing a cadet to a pack of wolves. Especially with Ticks._

_Yeah, this won't be pretty. Can I explain things to you calmly, now?_

_I'm listening…_

_I was a deserter because it was either Kamino or leaving the Republic. That was the same for Spitfire. Kat, though, we don't know about. She can't remember how she got off Kamino or what happened to her. When my memories were wiped, though, I had flashes. The memories were trying to come back. I think that's sort of what's been happening to Kat._

_She keeps on remembering bits and pieces and can't sleep, and you think it just was too much for her, _Tail confirmed.

_She has less sleep than _we _do. I guess I just don't want you guys to think badly of all deserters. We don't all get a choice in this._

_And most of us don't have the option of desertion at all._

_I know. None of this is fair. The people who need to desert or should have the option can't and the people who can and do…agh, this is all so messed up!_

_Easy, vod'ika. Just sleep on it. Keeli won't have any troubles getting Zeta Squad. After all, he doesn't have to argue with our Jedi general._

_Nonexistent…_

_Exactly._

* * *

><p>Kat appeared in the barrack with Claws the next morning, feet dragging and a large hat in her hands. Twitch saw the accessory and grinned.<p>

"Wait, isn't that—"

"Cad Bane's. Yeah."

"How did you get it? That guy kills for his hat!" Twitch hopped off her bunk to approach her sister, but stopped short when she saw the haunted look in her eyes. "What happened?"

"Got my memories back." Kat tipped forward and Twitch caught her. The tired girl's shaky breathing startled the other commando, who eased her onto a bunk.

The others watched with wide eyes, unsure whether or not to approach.

_Tail, could you get everyone out of here, please? _Twitch asked. Knowing her sister, she knew Kat would like some privacy. The scout murmured something to the others and herded them out, leaving only the females of the squad in the room.

"Oh, Twitch, how do I live with myself?" Before she could answer, the traumatized girl continued. "I was a bounty hunter, Twitch. I killed _children_. Little kids that were as young as I was. And I didn't even _care _that I did it." Tears eked out of Kat's clenched eyes.

"I don't know, vod. But that was a different you. Now you care about people and you've made up for your past, tenfold. You were only nine. You couldn't have understood the depth of what you were doing. And you killed Cad Bane, which will save a lot of lives."

"I was adopted by someone who was on Kamino. She let Bane's cousin help raise me, as a _bounty hunter_! I was too much competition for Bane. He came to kill me. My mom injected me with stuff so I wouldn't remember my life as a hunter. While she distracted Bane, Tal got me and Claws away. Cad killed mom."

Twitch winced at the story. Her sister took revenge and found out dark things about herself that would drive some people insane with guilt. It was a wonder no Despair-class demons had attacked her yet.

"And you are so incredibly strong for dealing with this as well as you have. Your mom would be so, so proud of you."

"Tal said I rivaled Lantana Fett for the title, 'The Golden-Eyed Demon'. Me, a nine-year-old kid, who didn't even know what she was really doing." Twitch knew that tone. She quickly grabbed her pillow and held it up for Kat, who began punching it with numbing strength.

_Ow, ow, ow, she has a hard punch, _Twitch thought to herself.

By the time Kat had vented all her emotions and fallen asleep, lunch had come around. Twitch pulled a blanket around her sister before leaving to explain things to Tail and eat something.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ hey, for once, I'm not the one who is doing all the torturing here. Kat's creator wrote her past. Anyways, I'll try to make up for the earlier wait. Please have patience!<br>_


	10. A Good Second

_A.N. ~ hey, only two days! At least that didn't take so long :) The current vote on Twitch and Darys is three nos and two yesses, so for now, they shalt not pair!_

* * *

><p>Kat looked painfully rough as she stumbled into the Mess Hall for dinner. Claws followed with her head bowed and tail drooping.<p>

The rest of Zeta Squad was already at a table, quietly arguing.

"She went rogue. That deserves at least a small punishment!" Hazard hissed.

"What she went through is punishment enough. It's amazing she isn't in shock!" Twitch snapped.

"Guys, shut up, she's coming this way." Darys muttered.

The conversation died just before Kat sat down next to Twitch. Claws growled at Hazard before curling up to sleep, having guarded her friend until she'd woken up.

"No, please, don't let us interrupt." The teenager said in a monotone. Hazard began opening his mouth when Twitch kicked him under the table, effectively shutting the sniper up.

"Just wishing we could actually _do _something instead of sitting around all the time." Streak grumbled, not hesitating with the lie at all.

"Well, pick a bounty hunter and go for it." Kat still seemed to be deadpan.

"Dibs on Bossk." Twitch joked.

"Who's he?" Darys asked, suppressing a gag at the food in his mouth.

"Trandoshan. Had a few run ins with him. Alone he isn't so bad, but if he has a hostage, it's a little less amusing." Twitch explained.

"Who was the hostage?" Hazard, forgetting himself, queried.

"That is up to your imaginations. I promised I wouldn't tell." All eyes instantly went to Tail.

"She didn't tell me, either." He shrugged.

* * *

><p>"She is extremely young. Though, I suppose if Padawans can be commanders…" Klairen Ghynna crossed her arms, contemplating Keeli's request. The two, over the years, had developed a steadfast relationship and a strong respect for each other. The Jedi trusted her captain's instincts and expertise, and Keeli counted on her wisdom and fairness.<p>

The two were also having dinner, though in a different building than Zeta Squad.

The Twi'lek finally nodded, nearly making Keeli smile. He recalled the conversation from the night before, when he and Twitch were perched on the wooden posts, long after deserters, and words in general, had left their minds.

* * *

><p>"You really would make a good second. You've proven you'll do whatever it takes to keep the men you're with alive." The captain noticed, curiously, that Twitch's expression darkened.<p>

"I don't think I'm suited for command." She mumbled.

"And what makes you say that?" Keeli wanted to know what possibly could have happened to make the most spirited person he knew crash in her confidence like that.

"I-I just shouldn't take charge of any troops." That was definitely a warning sign for the older clone that he was on unstable ground.

"What happened?"

"…" Twitch knew what had happened to Keeli's men on Ryloth. She knew she had no right to complain to him about losing men. That was why she couldn't talk.

"Your squad? Is that what happened?" The teenager gritted her teeth.

_Bingo, _the captain thought.

"After Ryloth, I was afraid of leading troops, too." Twitch looked up at him quickly, surprised. "I lost all my men. That was about enough to make me think I should've been reconditioned." She nearly protested, but decided to say something else.

"But now you're over it?"

"Sometimes, no. But I'm not going to help anyone by wondering what I could've done better or changed. So can you do that?" Twitch stared mutely. "I need a second, and no one seems better suited for the job."

"But what about my squad? Kat is still missing, and—" The girl back flipped, dodging the claws of a wraith.

"Think about it. For now, we've broken curfew."

"There was curfew? Since when?"

* * *

><p>Twitch and Kat had been sparring for hours. Ever since they left the Mess Hall for the gym. If they were out of the city, they'd be fighting Monarch-class witches. Claws was asleep in a corner, having grown bored after the first five rounds.<p>

"Watch it, Twitch, I almost gave you a scar for life!" Kat had, at least, began salvaging her usual upbeat attitude.

_Scar for life. If she only knew, _Twitch inwardly cringed.

_Slee-ping, _Tail sounded out irritably.

_Sor-ry, _the teenager caught the idea of a curse from her brother before their link was severed.

A few moves later, though, tables turned.

"Watch it, Kat, I almost gave _you _a scar for life." She quipped.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Yeah, like I'm looking at the chrono right now." The two were sparring with their gauntlets, giving the fight a much realer feeling to it.

"We could always ask Claws." They grinned at the thought.

"She'd eat us for it. Nope, we're just going to have to wait 'til the round en—whoa!" Kat tripped and pinned her sister, claws to her friend's throat.

"There, that's…thirty-two for me and…thirty-two for you, dang it!" The time, as they found out, was oh four hundred in the morning.

* * *

><p>"Where're the girls?" Streak mumbled as he pulled on his boots.<p>

"Sparring, I think. Probably left the city to go beast hunting, though." Tail rubbed sleep out of his eyes blearily.

"I'll check the gym." Darys sighed. He found the other two teenagers curled up on their sides against Claws' belly, like a couple of kittens. They were sound asleep, completely still except for the rise and fall of their chests.

The Umbaran considered waking them, but if the girls had fallen asleep here instead of returning to the barrack, it meant that either they dropped off accidentally and it was late, or they didn't want to wake anyone, also because of time.

He would be right about the first one. The two had leaned against the wall close to Claws, completely exhausted, and both fallen asleep. The nexu woke up and had gotten Twitch and Kat against her, as though she was a mother, to keep them warm.

Darys smiled, then left to tell his squad mates what had become of the girls.

By the time Kat and Twitch came to, they found that the gym was full of clones and they had missed breakfast, though lunch wasn't too far off. Strangely enough, there didn't seem to be much noise. None of the usual chatter or clattering of workout equipment.

The older soldiers kept glancing at them, and within five minutes, the usual noise had come back to the room.

"You don't think…" Kat trailed off. No one looked at them anymore.

"It seems they were." When the first clones came, they noticed that the girls were asleep, and judging by how deeply so, they'd been up late. The troopers stayed as quiet as possible, shushing any loud people who came in.

By the time an hour passed, it was impossible for anyone to get more than five feet into the room without being warned off.

The teenagers gave Claws an affectionate rubdown, one of the nexu's more pleasant wake-up calls, before leaving for their quarters to change. Twitch got in her usual black body suit while Kat donned a dark blue belly-top and black pants.

They finished just before Tail strolled in.

"You two went hunting?" He asked.

"Sparring in the gym. Lost track of time. Oopsie." Kat was definitely recovering, and even managed to smile a little.

"Hmm. Well, lunch is about to start…you two tied again, didn't you?"

"Thirty-two each."

"Just shoot us." They babbled.

* * *

><p>"Can he do that?" Hazard glanced at Streak. Keeli had just left the room after explaining the situation.<p>

"Never knew a commando squad to actually be a _part_ of any battalion." The mechanic replied.

"Well, it looks like he just did." Tail crossed his arms.

"Could've been worse. We'd die of boredom in the 104th." Twitch swatted Hazard for that.

"The Pack isn't so bad. They're good guys." She muttered.

"Cool, my first battalion!" Kat grinned. Darys looked less excited. He was used to being in only Zeta Squad, now he was about to be plunged into a much more crowded environment.

"Well," Hazard said, "we better pack our bags. We're going to the Beast Zone!"

* * *

><p>"Who do you think the captain's new second will be?" A clone nudged his buddy. The news that a transfer was also going to be a leader had hit the Mess Hall where Keeli's men ate<em>, <em>and the common gossiping that most clones indulged in was filled with the news of a commando squad that was joining the 659th.

"Dunno, but he's _got_ to be pretty good to catch the cap's eye." The close brother of the first speaker couldn't help but wonder how Keeli had met a commando. The battalion hadn't come into contact with any of the elite troopers recently, or at all since it was rebuilt, so this was fairly confusing.

"Well, I heard they're joining us on the _Hunter_ when we leave for the Beast Zone." A third soldier piped up.

"This oughta be interesting." The first of the three mumbled.

* * *

><p>The commandos walked into the <em>Hunter's<em> hangar looking around with different amounts of apprehension. Twitch felt at home on the ship, but her new post as captain's second had her worried.

Darys was still uncomfortable with his new surroundings, having been on a Venator-class star destroyer only once, and that was when he was in partial shock from the deaths of his mother and some friends.

Kat was still excited about being in her first battalion.

The rest of the squad wasn't too worried. The territory was familiar.

"So anyone we should avoid at all costs?" Hazard ribbed Twitch, who was in her cloak, hood down.

"Ticks can be a pain in the shebs, but no one that might have your head on a platter."

Keeli intercepted Zeta Squad and led them to their new quarters, eying Claws somewhat wearily, before asking Twitch to follow him.

"A nexu?" Was the first thing he said once they were out of earshot.

"Claws isn't so bad. She's like a big kitten if you don't rub her the wrong way." Twitch nearly cringed at her unintentional pun.

"Right, and how do you plan to feed and clean up after her?"

"Cleaning up is simple. She just does her business in an airlock and comes out."

"Suure, and what about feeding?"

"Got any shinies on hand?" Keeli sighed at the joke, wondering what he'd gotten himself and his men into.

"Cute. So, the men have been making plenty of theories on who you are and what you're capable of. And no one has guessed your gender correctly. Or your age, so this is going to be interesting."

"I'm guessing Ticks'll be the worst of them. We've never gotten along."

"Tape prankster?"

"Him and his buddies. By now, anything and everything we say to each other isn't taken seriously. If it was, one of us would've been court-marshalled for bloody murder." Twitch suddenly clamped her mouth shut, realizing she was probably starting to talk too much.

"Glad to hear. Well, _first lieutenant_, we have a debriefing on our next mission."

_Debriefs and strategy meetings. _This _is why I didn't like being a sergeant, _she thought to herself while entering a room that already held Ghynna, a holotable, and several other lieutenants.

* * *

><p>The older clone lieutenants had trouble believing Twitch was the captain's second, and telling their subordinates was surprising enough, but the most amazing thing was how the teenager managed to get the news of her promotion to her squad before someone else did.<p>

"First lieutenant, huh? Well, aren't you full of surprises." Streak grinned.

"It seems that every time you and I cross paths, you rise in ranks." Darys commented.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to make sure to keep you around." Twitch joked.

"Well, _ma'am_, what's our next mission?" Hazard grinned.

"Oh, no. I am definitely _not_ a ma'am during down time." The lieutenant groaned.

"You're not a ma'am to me whether we're on leave or in the Beast Zone. I am never calling you ma'am." Kat flicked her sister's forehead.

"No to the part about never, yes to the no about leave." Twitch muttered.

"That seems a bit contradictory." The other girl smiled, ducking a swipe from her sister.

"I'm still not sure how this works with you being a commando. Are you still one, or…" Tail shook his head.

"I don't know, either, but we'll be into the Beast Zone in three days, and at our destination in five. Inside the Zone, beasts can and likely will board the _Hunter_, so we'll have to set up watches…you already know this." Everyone except Darys and Kat nodded.

_I've gotta break that habit, _Twitch mumbled.

_You mean the one where you tell us stuff we already know? Kat and Darys didn't, so I think you're okay, _Tail promised, crossing his arms out of conversational habituality.

"That's it. From now on, we're just assuming you two actually _are _telepathic and having conversations when you do this." Hazard waved a hand in front of Tail's face, breaking the eye contact he'd formed with his close sister.

"Exactly." Twitch sniffed.

"Right, right. Well, _lieutenant_, where are your new quarters?" Streak backed up on seeing the sour look the girl gave him.

"_Here_. I talked to Captain Keeli about it. After all, who would Kat be pushing out of bed if I left?" Kat instantly pointed at Hazard, then Darys.

"Hey!" The two protested.

"Tail and Streak don't deserve it." She shrugged.

"What did _I_ do to deserve it?" Twitch scowled.

"You're as light as I am and you went and got promoted. Need I continue?" Kat had an entire list planned out, so she was fairly disappointed when her sister shook her head.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I've actually always wanted Twitch to be in her new position, but I knew I had to somewhat ease into it since she's only a teenager. Anyways, I'll start on the next chapter. <em>

_Also, for those of you who've watched 'Madoka Magica', you might have noticed that every now and then, I borrow their idea to use what someone said as a title for the episode, or in my case, the chapter._


	11. Hunting

_A.N. ~ just a final reminder that I probably won't be able to post this weekend because I'm visiting some friends in a wifi-poor area. But, I'll try writing as much as I can :)_

* * *

><p>No one could say the Beast Zone was calm in any way. From the moment the <em>Hunter<em> entered the area, everyone had to walk around armed and sleep on and off, taking watches with their guns beside them. A small handful of troops had reported to the medical bay with injuries from varying beasts.

Kat and Claws, both bored and out on a walk, ended up fighting two grievers. Twitch was in the process of helping Darys learn his way around the Venator-class ship when they were attacked by a couple of minotaurs.

The rest of Zeta Squad had yet to be jumped by any monsters, but it was only a matter of time.

The 659th's mission was to reinforce a massive research base that was posted well inside the Beast Zone, where some of the most brilliant and applauded scientists were studying beasts to find weaknesses, behavioral patterns, reproduction methods, combat abilities, and plenty of other things that could be useful.

* * *

><p>"Kat, I think this means we won't be hunting at night." Twitch mumbled during breakfast the next day, exhausted after a night of listening to the cackling of wraiths and howls of werewolves.<p>

"Don't think we need to. There're enough beasts to deal with already." They ate their food slowly, only pausing to shoot at the griever that was strolling in. They, of course, killed it, but the monster was blocking the door.

"No kidding." Darys, at another table, was being roughed up by a few older troops, who were 'breaking in the new blood', as they put it.

_I really have no motivation to intervene. Think leaving him alone will be okay?_ The lieutenant asked Tail.

_He'll be fine. It's not like they're gonna start a fistfight,_ the scout seemed to be just as tired.

Nobody was too keen on pushing around the girls, one, because Twitch was the captain's second, and two, a large nexu was lying between the teenagers and other clones. There had been no sign of Gundi or Ticks, which indicated that they were on different parts of the ship.

"At least it's only a day before we get to the research base. Then maybe it'll be easier to sleep." Kat grumbled.

"In the Beast Zone? On the ground? Riight." Twitch sighed.

"Good point. Though, with any luck…" The other teenager trailed off with a sly smirk.

"What?"

"Venator-sized dragons." That did get them smiling. The prospect of any opponent that size was too tempting to pass up thinking of.

* * *

><p>When people said 'research base', they usually didn't mean 'heavily guarded fortress with walls ten feet thick'. Zeta Squad craned their necks to see the top of the sixteen-meter barrier. The base itself was massive, well over a hundred acres of buildings attached by transparasteel-surrounded walkways.<p>

_Heck of a base, _Tail murmured.

_This is amazing. I wonder how hard it was to build all this with beasts to worry about, _Twitch replied.

"Oi, telepaths! Time to go." Hazard interrupted.

"Coming." They hurried after the rest of the squad, and the rest of the 659th. Someone commed Twitch, and when she answered, Keeli spoke.

"You joining us in the front, or are you going to hang back there all day?" She smiled and jogged to catch up with the captain.

* * *

><p>Buildings usually look small on the outside and massive inside. In this case, the base seemed larger than life as the soldiers made their way through its halls. Scientists of all species, dressed in white lab coats, paused in their activities to eye the clones.<p>

_This place is amazing!_ Twitch restated.

_Glad you like it, 'cause we're probably going to be here a while, _Tail couldn't help but smile at his sister's enthusiasm.

_Good. We'll probably get to fight beasts as much as we like, now! You know, there's a rumor that dragons the size of star destroyers are in the Beast Zone._

_I heard. Let me guess. You and Kat want to take one on?_

_Absolutely!_ The medic sighed, wondering if he was going to outlive the girls.

"Ah, you're here! Wonderful!" Twitch instantly recognized the man's voice and sorely wished she could put up the hood of her cloak.

_Wait, isn't that…_ Tail began.

_Carnem. I can't believe that somehow, out of all the scientists in the galaxy, we end up in the same base as him!_

Zibrius Carnem was the scientist Pyro Squad had been escorting when Fritz, Shorty, Decker, and Bark had died. He was a bad memory without the reminder of lost squad mates.

Twitch tried not to glare as Zibrius hurried toward her, Ghynna, and Keeli. Instead, she looked out the transparasteel window, where storm clouds were gathering. The planet was composed of grasslands and mountains, with a few creeks here and there.

Keeli glanced at his second, who he knew to never let a stranger get close without a thorough visual examination.

"Welcome to _Mainframe_…er, the base. We've been awfully shorthanded since the last attack. My name is Zibrius Carnem."

"I am Klairen Ghynna. This is my second-in-command, Captain Keeli, and first lieutenant, Twitch." The teenager forced herself to look at Carnem, meeting his black eyes with her own.

"A pleasure. Would you like me to escort you to the barracks?"

* * *

><p>"Lieutenant! Lieutenant, a word!" Zibrius ran through the buffeting wind to catch up to Twitch and her patrol. She and the three other soldiers were checking around the northern buildings for beast activity.<p>

"Keep going. I'll catch up soon." The girl murmured, stopping. The older clones parted around her, continuing on their way. Carnem caught up, huffing as though he'd been sprinting a long way. Twitch's cloak was on, hood up this time.

Their cheeks were red from the cold, and to be heard over the wind, their voices had to rise.

"What do you want, Carnem?" The girl asked, crossing her arms.

"To apologize for my behavior when Pyro Squad was protecting me. I took your advice and tried talking to clones, and you were right. Absolutely, completely right."

"Glad to hear. Was there anything else?" Twitch asked in a monotone. She was cold, tired, and didn't want to bring up Pyro Squad, especially with the man who had treated them so badly.

"I was hoping to apologize to the rest of your men?"

"That's not possible. Pyro Squad was wiped out during the Vhalan Campaign. Tail and I are the only ones left." She was surprised to see that the scientist looked genuinely upset.

"I-I had no idea. I'm sorry. W—"

"Watch out!" Twitch tackled Zibrius, getting them both out of a charging minotaur's path.

"My goodness!" He wailed.

"Don't stay in one spot. Minotaurs are fast, but can only charge in straight lines. Just stay out of the way and we'll both be fine." Twitch ordered, drawing her guns. She dodged the next charge while shooting into its side and head.

The beasts had thick hides, so it would take a little while for the commando to kill it. The minotaur stood on its hind legs, beat its chest with a roar, and once again came directly at her. She jumped back again, holstering her left gun and shooting with her right.

Twitch sprang off her free hand to get more room, getting a lucky shot into the monster's eye. It dropped over with a thud, but Twitch redrew he left gun, looking around with narrowed eyes.

"What? What is it? The beast is dead, isn't it?" Carnem babbled.

"Minotaurs only appear at dawn and dusk. It's too late for any to be out." She noticed her comm was beeping.

"Lieutenant! There's a Queen-class witch at—argh!" One of the men from her patrol cried.

"Carnem, inside, double time." Twitch called over her shoulder, running after her men. It didn't take much to find them; they were shouting and shooting and the witch was glowing. One of the three was on the ground, either dead or unconscious.

The girl dove straight past the werewolves and wraiths to tackle the witch. They rolled over and over, the beast trying to bite her attacker's neck like a wild animal. Twitch shoved one of her arm-blades into the creature's gut, wrenching her arm to increase the damage.

The other soldiers were meanwhile shooting the remaining beasts, all of whom were distracted by the witch's injury. Twitch left her opponent on the ground to die while taking on the nearest werewolves. The wraiths backed off, leaving the canine monsters to die.

The night beasts' bodies all disintegrated to ash, blown away by the freezing wind. One of the two checked the felled soldier's pulse, pulling away with a sigh of relief.

"Just unconscious. The witch picked him up and threw him around."

"Let's get him to a med bay, then."

* * *

><p>Carnem was fine, the injured trooper was easily healed, but beast activity was dramatically increased as the twin moons rose.<p>

Twitch spent her time walking throughout the base, learning where everything was and where the weak and strong points in defenses were located. She also found plenty of nooks and crannies where she could spend time when she needed to be alone.

Kat and Claws did much the same, as did all the soldiers of the 659th, minus the hiding places. Darys befriended some clones outside of the squad, impressing them with his determination to become a better soldier.

Twitch mainly kept to herself, or stayed with Tail. That was the curse of rank; the inability to spend time with most troops because of the neutrality that was meant to be kept.

Streak and Hazard spent most of their time together or alone, and Kat didn't seek out the company of anyone except Claws, who was always with her, anyways.

* * *

><p>Life at <em>Mainframe<em>, what the scientists had nicknamed the base, was certainly more interesting than anything Naboo had to offer. Beasts were almost always present outside of the buildings, within the walls or not, and patrols were plentiful, giving everyone something to do.

Every now and then, research teams, all heavily guarded, left base to capture beasts, study wild ones from afar, or plant tech on different monsters, when they could.

Claws had become rather uneasy, however, for no apparent reason one day. She was continuously nosing and tugging on Kat, but not leading the teenager anywhere.

"I'm not telepathic, buddy. What's wrong?" Kat rubbed Claws' head gently, but the nexu only growled, walked in a circle, then sat with a whine. It got so bad, the girl finally commed her sister.

"Twitch, Claws is going crazy. Something's wrong."

"Thanks for the clear warning." The lieutenant replied drily. "We'll be sure to watch for anything unusual."

"Whoa!" Kat yelped. "Okay, something's _really _wrong. Claws nearly took my arm off. We're coming outside. Maybe some fresh air will calm her down." The worried girl led her friend to the nearest exit quickly, but once outside, the feline seemed to become even worse, pacing, growling, not letting Kat near, and sniffing.

"Claws, what's got you upset? Claws?" Kat backed off when the predator swiped at her. "This is ridiculous! What's wrong?" The nexu suddenly took off towards the southern wall, the one that faced a mountain range. Kat followed, unsure of what possibly could have her companion so vexed.

She nearly ran into a patrol headed by Tail.

"Kat, what's wrong with Claws?" The scout asked.

"Something's wrong. She's been freaked out all morning. Is there any really, _really_ bad weather on the way?"

"Um, no. I don't think she'd be this upset over weather, either." Kat swallowed hard, regaining her breath before taking off after her friend again.

* * *

><p>"Oh, so <em>that's<em> why you're worried." Kat groaned, staring at the humongous t-rex that towered over the southern wall. "Hey, Twitch? It's not the size of the _Hunter_, but wanna take on the giant reptile…_thing_ at the south wall?" She asked over the comm.

"What are you talking a..whoa. Yeah, be right there. Don't do anything crazi_er _than usual."

"What is this 'usual' of which you speak?" Kat grinned.

"Just be alive when I get there." Twitch heard laughing as the call ended. The lieutenant sighed, then looked at the men with her on patrol. "Go tell the captain, if he doesn't know already." She muttered the last part as she ran, wall-running along the side of a small warehouse before taking flight.

From the air, Twitch could see that the beast was bipedal, with short forelegs, a long tail, and had a massive, toothy mouth. Once she was high enough, she dove at gentle angle, landing ten feet from Kat and Claws.

"That thing's karkin' massive! Let's take it down." The lieutenant grinned.

"Absolutely." The two charged, one taking off and the other riding on Claws. Once Twitch gained enough speed and found a good thermal, she glided in low over Kat's head. The earth-bound girl jumped up, looping her arms around Twitch's torso and accidentally head butting her sister on the way up.

They immediately began losing altitude, but the thermal tossed the teenagers up high over the beast's head. Its long tail nearly crashed into them, barely dodged.

_Oh, Tail, you should probably know something, _Twitch furrowed her brow, showing the monster to him as best she could with limited concentration.

_And you're flying toward this thing?_

_With Kat dangling from me._

_You two are insane. Completely, utterly insane._

_Oh, you're gonna love the next part._

"Now!" Kat barked. Twitch wrenched their path away from its previous course, zipping over the beast's open mouth. Kat dropped down, digging her metal-encased fingers into the soft flesh of the creature's throat. She began slashing repeatedly, ripping at the thick outer skin to complete the hole.

Twitch, meanwhile, started shooting the eyes, taking off every now and then to avoid its tail. The reptile roared, which was bad enough for anyone outside at close range. Kat literally could not hear a thing after that.

Troopers rapidly lined the walls, shooting and moving to avoid the beast's mouth, tail, and stubby forearms.

"Avoid the throat." Twitch ordered over the comm. "Repeat, do _not _aim for the neck." She suddenly barrel rolled, then was flipped as the beast's tail whipped past.

It didn't take long for a bloody hole to appear in the animal's neck, which rapidly widened until the monster began hacking. The lieutenant dove past the gap, Kat jumping on her back.

"Concentrate fire on the hole in its neck!" Twitch ordered as soon as they'd landed.

"Looks like you two've got everything under control." Keeli said.

"What?" Kat yelled. "I think I'm sort of deaf from that roar. Come again?"

The beast staggered, then fell, wheezing. Twitch suddenly noticed that her sister was coated in saliva and blood.

"Why don't you go shower." She said. Kat just sighed, then pointed at an ear. "Shower!" Twitch repeated, louder.

"What?" Kat pawed an ear.

"This is why we need telepathy." Twitch grumbled.

"Can you do charades or something?" The deafened teenager suggested, only getting a shaken head in reply. "Okay, then I'll just go shower."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ that was amusing :) Give me a little time to figure out what the heck is going to happen next, and it'll be here. G'bye!<br>_


	12. Another Important Author Note

_Hey. So, I need you guys to do something for me. Just please be understanding and have open minds. _

_When I started the vote for Twitch and Darys' pairing, I did not know whether I wanted to have it happen or not, therefore I was impartial. But, after hearing your opinions and having more time to think it through, I've found that I want it to happen, like some of you do. Please understand, I was reluctant to post this because I don't want to make it seem like your opinions are meaningless._

_I have seen your concerns, so I will not let Twitch become dependent. I will not allow the pairing to get between Tail and Twitch's relationship. _

_Twitch and Darys are both teenagers, so cuddles and kisses are the farthest this will go, and I'll try to make this happen slowly, not all at once.  
><em>

_It took a new friend's encouragement to help me make this decision, so please respect that I also write for myself, not just you. I am sorry to those of you who feel like this is unfair or like the voting was just me messing around. That is not the case, so please understand.  
><em>

_Thank you._

_P.S. ~ I have several new chapters that will be posted as soon as possible._


	13. Domestic Arguements

_A.N. ~ I only just posted an author note, but I still feel like I haven't been on for a while. Anyways, that note was written just after I finished Chapter Thirteen, so it came sort of early, but I felt it was important to post it as soon as I could. _

_Anyways, I have Thirteen finished and Chapter Fourteen well on the way. Hopefully, that'll make up for not posting during the weekend. Enjoy the current chapter, though :)_

* * *

><p>"I think my hearing's coming back!" Kat announced loudly. Twitch looked up from the datapad she was reading and started mouthing words, as though she was talking. Tail started, too, copied by Streak and Hazard. Darys joined in.<p>

"What? But I can hear myself!" The teenager blinked. The rest of Zeta Squad began laughing, now heard. "Cute, guys. Really cute." She mumbled. Claws seemed to grin, not helping her irritation.

"You could've gotten it back a lot faster if you'd just gone to the med bay." Tail pointed out.

"Nope. Twitch is with me, right, buddy?" Kat smiled.

"I'm not going to be the hypocrite here. I wouldn't've gone, either." The lieutenant mumbled, glancing at the chrono before turning off her datapad and getting up to leave.

_Where're you going?_ Tail asked.

_Patrol,_ she replied.

_I thought you didn't have any today._

_I didn't, but a few other troops are bored, so we're going. Not like it's going to hurt anyone except any_ _beasts we find._

* * *

><p>"Ma'am." One of the troops greeted.<p>

"This isn't exactly an official patrol. You can call me Twitch." The lieutenant offered. The three men paused, then nodded. They strolled out of the shadow the building they were next to cast, planning to just stroll around and hope for the best.

Someone tackled Twitch and she rolled, tossing off her assaulter and getting to her feet. Kat grinned from the ground and pushed off her hands to her feet.

"I was bored, too." She explained.

"Is Claws bored?" Twitch was also smiling as she looked around for a nexu-in-waiting.

"Asleep in the barrack." The group, Kat now in tow, resumed their walk.

"The lieutenant is pretty…_young._" One of the troops, Scuff, mumbled to his friends through their helmet-to-helmet comms.

"You weren't part of the 659th when she was here last, were you?" Jay, the third of them asked. His brother-by-choice was, like Claws, asleep.

"Didn't even know she existed." Clock replied.

"Well, believe me when I say she deserves her post. She was originally in Torrent Company. She is completely capable of taking on a platoon of clankers alone."

"What about her sister?" Scuff persisted.

"Not sure about her, but she and the l…er, Twitch _did _take on that massive beast yesterday and ripped a hole in its throat."

"Remind me never to mess with girls." Clock muttered.

"Hey, if you girls are done with your conversation, that five ton griever needs some attention." Kat interrupted, flicking her head towards the monster.

"Is there even a class for that type? Because 'king' just doesn't come to mind when I look at it." Twitch quipped, realizing a moment later expressing ignorance about beasts probably wasn't the best idea.

"Ugly. It's an Ugly-class griever." Kat decided.

"Wait, that's all of them." Clock reminded.

"Heh, you've got a point. Okay, mmm…I dunno, a Titan-class?"

"That works." Jay hefted his gun, deciding on where he wanted to aim.

"Well, let's take care of it before it kills someone." Twitch began sprinting without warning, jumping to spring off a ladder on the side of a building before taking off with her wingsuit.

"Sounds like a great idea." Kat began running after her sister, closely followed by the other clones.

"So what's our plan?" Scuff asked.

"What do you mean 'our', mortal?" Kat cackled, dodging the tail as it crashed down where she had just been standing and tackling it. The limb swept up, turning her knuckles white as she struggled to hold on, and the teenager released just as it began going down again.

Twitch glided underneath her sister, who crouched on her back, flying them on top of the griever. The beast was nearly three stories tall and its back was twenty feet wide, giving them a slimy, squishy, soft landing.

"Eww." Kat mumbled.

"This calls for a shower." Twitch agreed. "Oh, crap!" She grabbed her friend's arms and they dove out of the path of tail, which crashed into the griever's back. The girls slid, starting to go over the edge. Kat activated her right gauntlet, stabbing it into the monster's side and grabbing Twitch with her other hand.

"Drop me!" The lieutenant ordered.

"What?" Kat tightened her grip, as though her sister's request alone would make her let go.

"Wingsuit, remember? Just drop me! I'll be right up." Twitch, as soon as she was in freefall, grabbed the leather bands, still upside down, and barrel rolled to dodge one of the griever's legs, going right-side up.

She glided down to Jay, Clock, and Scuff, all of whom were shooting fruitlessly.

"Lieutenant, that thing's headed for the weapons depot!" Jay shouted as she landed.

"Oh, fun. Well, why don't you three beat it there and grab some rocket launchers while we distract it?" Twitch suggested. The tail once again swung towards the ground, straight at the clones. While the three older ones ran, Twitch merely crossed her arms and sidestepped at the last minute, getting sprayed by dirt.

"G-good idea." Clock stuttered.

"The lieutenant is either crazy, brave, or doesn't care." Scuff muttered though their helmets as they ran.

"No kidding. That was half a foot away from death." Clock gulped.

"Like I said; _deserves _her post." Jay grinned.

Kat, meanwhile, was having a lot of trouble avoiding the wrecking ball of a tail that kept nearly flattening her. Twitch would have gone for the beast's eyes, but seeing as those were just two shriveled dots of tightly pulled skin, she had nothing to go on.

"This is crazy!" She yelled to her airborne sister. "I'm not even hurting it! I feel like a karkin' fly!"

"Think about your size compared to Ugly and tell me you aren't a fly to him." Twitch yelled back, looping back and forth around a leg, wingsuit repeatedly loosening and tightening as she slashed with her arm-blades.

"Ugh, what's the plan? I am _not _getting in its mouth."

"Grievers don't need to breathe, anyway. Just get ready to jump on my signal. The boys'll be back with some launchers soon."

* * *

><p>"Let us <em>in<em>. Lieutenant Twitch needs those launchers _right now._" Scuff growled.

"What do you think we're going to do? Blow up a building?" Clock added, glaring at the guards who stood in front of the weapon depot's doors.

"No access to anyone without the rank of sergeant or higher." One of them restated.

"Lieutenant." Jay sighed into his comm.

"Jay, where are those fekking launchers? This thing is practically ignoring us. At this pace, it'll be at the depot in about three minutes." Twitch asked. A yelp and barked curse interrupted Jay as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Apparently, we don't have _high enough clearance _to take what we need." Only the slight edge of sarcastic irritation betrayed Jay's control.

"Well, put me on with whoever won't let you in so you _do_." She snapped. Jay was almost smirking as he offered his wrist to the now nervous guards, almost pitying them.

"'Kay, lieutenant." He said.

"I don't have the time or logical reasoning to chew you out, but unless you wanna take on a griever as large as the building you're guarding, you best let those three in, got it?" Twitch demanded.

"Yes, sir!" The guards instantly let their brothers past.

"Oh, and Jay? Please hurry. We're going to miss lunch if we don't wrap this up soon." The teenager's voice carried a grin.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

><p>"Fire! Fire!" Twitch shouted, gliding alongside the griever. Kat ran parallel to her, jumping off just as the Scuff, Clock, and Jay shot at the bases of the legs. Twitch dove steeply towards the ground, tumbling roughly with her sister.<p>

_Great, new bruises for the morning, _the lieutenant thought with a grin. She felt a strange satisfaction at the knowledge that she'd have a comfortable soreness to remind her of the event for a few days.

_You're strange. So, what's managed to give you marks? _Tail asked.

_Oh, a Titan-class griever. It's about three stories high and has a tail that could be mistaken as part of the base,_ she replied, sending a few mental pictures.

_Titan-class. That's new. Well, how many squads are fighting it?_ Twitch got up and climbed a nearby building before taking off to attack the monster's right legs, which had thus far been unharmed.

_Well, there's me, Kat, and the three troops I was originally meant to go with, but it looks like another patrol is coming to join the party. I was wondering what it took to get someone else's attention. The thing has only been lumbering around for ten minutes._

_Why am I not surprised you two are insane enough to take it on solo?_

_Solo-_ish_. We only distracted it for five minutes while the others left to get some rocket launchers._

_If you end up dead some day because you tried one of your crazy dynamic-duo things with Kat, I swear I'll never talk to you again._

_Riight. We don't take on stuff we know we can't handle._

_Yes, you do._ Tail stated, completely serious. _And if you aren't sure about your chances, you dive in headfirst, anyways. Nobody's invincible. You of all people should know that. _The ghost of her scars lingered in the back of Twitch's friend's mind, tangible to her.

_I know I'm not safe on the battlefield, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take chances. Tail, this isn't another one of those 'you're only a kid and this is war' conversations, is it?_

_And what if it is?_

_We've been over this. I'm young, but I'm physically and mentally capable of handling this._

_You and Kat are _teenagers. _You shouldn't be worrying about your survival. You should be concerned about school, and-and _boys_, and stuff that other teenagers worry about…_

_Tail, I don't have _time_ for _school, _or _boys_, or_ any_ of those things. My main concern is making sure as many men in this battalion live through this war as possible_. The griever collapsed and the launcher-bearing troops angled their weapons at its head.

_You _should_ have the time!_ The scout shouted. _You both should. Think about it! Y—_

_I _have _thought about it. And when I imagine me and Kat sitting in a classroom full of other kids, listening to a babbling teacher, it makes me sick! We aren't delicate little girls who go to school and have perfect lives. Happily ever afters don't exist! Wake up! We. Are. Soldiers. We are like you. Ever since we were kids, in different ways, we have been raised for war. _

_Bu—_

_No! No 'buts'! Have you ever considered how badly civilian life suits Kat and myself? W—_

_HAVE YOU CONSIDERED HOW IT WOULD FEEL FOR ME TO WATCH YOU DIE?! _Tail boomed. _We exchanged experiences of what happened after the beast took me on Kamino, remember? And we were linked during Adion. I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!_

_If I go to civilian life, you'll lose me, anyway, _Twitch said quietly. _Do you think I could stand sitting at a desk, wondering if you're going to come back alive or not? We'd be separated almost all the time! _

_At least I'd know you would survive this._

_And what about you?! Huh, Tail? What about _your _survival? I've lost you several times, already. You nearly died on Kamino, and on Adion, and above Vhalan, and above Naboo. If I thought you might be gone for good a fifth time…well, I wouldn't be able to handle it!_

"Ha! Now _THAT_ was a good fight!" Kat crowed.

_We will talk about this later. For now, I have a thirty ton griever to explain._

* * *

><p>The conversation did continue, and completely snowballed into a nasty shouting match that came out verbally or mentally. By the end of it, Twitch and Tail were so furious that they hadn't even been on topic, just screeching abuse at each other like a pair of lunatics.<p>

Darys had hurried in just as it ended, having heard raised voices, and was bumped by Twitch as she stormed out, muttering curses and insults.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked Tail, who merely turned on his heel, jammed his helmet on, and set it to block out external noises while lying down on his bunk to simmer. "What's wrong with him? …Who am I even talking to?"

* * *

><p>Twitch walked blindly through the base, aware of the people and corners she had to navigate around, but not fully so. She was too busy blocking Tail and seething. She eventually stopped in front of a door, realizing her feet had automatically led her to Keeli's office.<p>

Usually, it would have been Rex she would go to when something like this came up, looking for council and a mediator. Just as the lieutenant started to leave, a voice stopped her.

"Twitch, was there anything you needed?" Keeli asked.

"No." She mumbled, emotions instantly toning down now that she had someone besides Tail talking to her.

"Aaare you alright?" The captain walked around to face the girl.

"Yes."

"Really? Because a moment ago, it looked like you were about to punch a hole in my door."

"It's not your door I want to punch at the moment. Sorry. It's nothing. I'll get over it." She walked away before Keeli could say another word, and he let her go.

_I'm definitely not the one she needs to talk to right now, _he sighed. _If only I knew who was…oh, wait…_

* * *

><p>"Well, you don't lose your breath easily." Ajax had been standing behind Twitch for five minutes, listening to her angry mumbling. On a normal day, with a clear head, the teenager might have recognized his tone, but when she was so angry, she couldn't remember him.<p>

"Anything I can help you with?" She droned, standing up to face him. They were on top of one of the warehouses, giving a sense of privacy.

"Well, traditionally, a 'hello' is how we greet each other, then a short 'how have you been' session, followed by you explaining why the captain sent me after a nearly homicidal teenager that sort of already terrifies me."

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Twitch put a hand on her hip, leaning fully on her bent right leg and straightening her left. A pose that was somewhat relaxed, but made the girl also look like she was royally upset with anything or one that came near her.

"Aw, you don't remember? Here's a hint. 'Not the piece of mind I was expecting, but at least it worked'."

"Ajax? Huh, glad to see you in one piece." Twitch tried to muster a smile, but her anger flared and she had to look down to avoid glaring at her friend.

"If I get any closer, will I stay in one piece?" He asked.

"Probably." She sat down and was joined by the older clone.

"The last time I saw you this angry, it took two Jedi to prevent bloody murder. Who's the unlucky one?

"Remember that guy in my squad who nearly ended up in a stasis tank? Well, he's alright now, but still a pain in the shebs. Shabuir…"

"Okay, then… So how did he manage to get you this angry?"

"It's an ongoing argument. In short, he wants me to leave the army so I'll be 'safe'. Like that's going to happen! There's no way I'm going to just turn into a happy little schoolgirl and sit around while there's still a war going on."

"I'm sorry, but you as a civilian just doesn't fit in my head. He does realize who you are, right?"

"A little too well, actually. He's my brother-by-choice, and getting tired of all the 'insane' stunts me and my sister pull during battles. Yes, we do crazy things, but only because those crazy things are necessary!"

"Ai, he's really got you upset."

"He's being protective. _Again._ We've both nearly gotten killed a lot of times, but that doesn't mean he gets to just draw the line because he thinks bad things might happen. Bad things always happen! Argh, why does he have to be so…so…"

"Brotherly?" Ajax suggested, trying to hide a smile.

"Yes! I don't need to be babied! I was fighting in the war when he was a cadet on Kamino, and he thinks he can suddenly decide the limits of my abilities?!"

"Easy. Easy for both our sakes. You really need to cool off…" He shut up as Twitch hit him with the scariest glare he'd ever seen. "Umm…uh, look. He's worried for you, but he's protecting you wrong—"

"I don't need _protection_." She added.

"—but, I think you're also overreacting." Ajax finished, this time not startled by the scowl.

"_You _try being mothered by someone who's younger and older than you at the same time! I've got more experience than him, but he's biologically older, making him an adult, which, by the way, has no affect on me. Ugh, I have no idea how to deal with this." She hung her head in defeat.

"Domestic arguments aren't your strong point, are they?" Twitch flopped onto her back, legs crossed.

"Nope. It was somehow easier with my little sister. Probably because the worst things we argued about were training methods…wait, why the fek am I talking about this?"

"We need to get you a councilor." Ajax lay down beside his sister.

"Some locals tried that on me'n Spitfire once. We stayed still until we worked our restraints loose and knocked him out before leaving."

"Alright, how about a punching bag?" The lieutenant held up her hands for inspection, revealing bruised and split knuckles.

"Stopped while I was ahead, before something broke."

"Softer punching bag?"

"When anyone says that, I think of a human body."

"Um, yeah, never mind. How about you just keep yelling."

"Nah, I've already probably attracted some Rage-class demons. Better cool off before one gives me an excuse to strangle Tail."

Rage-class demons, much like their despair-oriented cousins, set into people and caused uncontrollable anger in someone, usually resulting in a mutually lethal murder between its victim and another person.

"Right. Well, if you ever need to vent, I'm here."

"Thanks. Oh, and tell anyone about this and I'll feed you to my sister's nexu."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I'll post the next chapter asap. Until then, goodbye!<br>_


	14. What Teenage Girls Should Worry About

_A.N. ~ this isn't such a long chapter, but the next one will be up quickly enough. Enjoy :)_

* * *

><p>Twitch and Tail had stubbornly refused to speak with each other for a week. Not even telepathically. In fact, they didn't even acknowledge each other's existence, letting their eyes glide past the other as though no one was there.<p>

Streak and Hazard had seen the two fight before, but this was completely different from the glares and muttered remarks that had been the worst of it. Darys and Kat had never seen them fight, period, except for friendly arguments.

"Oh, there's Tail." Kat commented to Twitch as they got their food. "Why don't we keep him company."

"Let's sit over there." The lieutenant flicked her chin toward a table on the other side of the room. Kat only grabbed her wrist before dragging her over to Tail, sitting herself and her sister down. The scout and angry teenager looked at their food, nothing else, as they ate.

"Aw, you two even hate each other the same way." Kat teased.

"Shut _up_, Kat." Twitch hissed.

"I really don't know why you two are so angry with each other. Honestly, you two seemed to never fight, but then, I've only been around for a few months."

"Kat, _shut up_." The other teenager repeated.

"But it's really impressive how you've managed to ignore each other when you're living in the same room most of the time." Twitch clenched her fists, telling herself to not punch anyone in the Mess Hall.

_You don't get to start fights with people in public like this. Cool off and ignore her, _she told herself, making sure Tail didn't hear her.

"I mean, you don't even look at each other, and don't talk, and act like there's nobody where the other is. Wait, you two aren't married, are you?" That was the limit. Twitch grabbed her tray and stalked to another table before she did something she would regret.

"What's got you two so mad, anyway?" Kat asked. Tail grit his teeth and continued to ignore her. "Hey, I look like her, but that doesn't mean I _am _her. So don't you be dragging me onto your list of people to ignore." Kat growled.

"Not your business." The scout muttered.

"Just say what's got you so angry and I'll leave." The teenager promised.

"…" Kat got up and walked over to Twitch.

"Maybe you'll be more reasonable."

"Choose your next words _very_ carefully, because I'm already close to punching someone." The lieutenant warned.

"I just wanna know why you two are fighting. Really, it's getting awfully annoying to see you acting like there are only five people in our quarters at the most."

"What's annoying is how Tail wants me to go and be a civvy. I'm not going to school, or date boys, or stay in a nice, safe place while beasts start taking over the galaxy."

"Whoa, wait, he wants you to _date_?" Kat gaped.

"Didn't say it directly, but it was on his list of what teenage girls should worry about. Do I look like a fekkin' civilian to you?" They stared at each other, then shook their heads.

"Okay, that's kind of stupid. You're older and more experienced than him, and you've been doing insanely dangerous things since before he graduated from Kamino."

"_Exactly!_ I can take care of myself, and, by the way, so can you. Ugh, he's being so stupid about this!"

"If this is how a grown man acts, there's no way I'm ever getting a boyfriend." Kat grumbled.

"No kidding. I kinda miss Rex. At least he didn't give me a hard time about battlefield tactics. Probably because he listens to Skywalker's plans."

"That makes you both crazy." The other girl grinned, seeing the slight upward curve of her sister's lips.

* * *

><p>"That's it, this needs to stop." Streak growled, crossing his arms as he glared at Twitch and Tail, who were both still ignoring each other. Hazard joined his brother in the doorway, making sure no one could leave. Darys stood to the side, guiltily trying to force peaceful emotions on the angry siblings.<p>

**(Look up Umbarans. They have the power to...I don't know how to explain it. Just look them up if you wanna know.)**

He had at first avoided the idea of manipulating Twitch like someone would avoid a rabid anooba, but after enough pressure from Hazard and Streak, the Umbaran agreed. Unfortunately for him, Twitch's mental barriers were up, so she would barely be affected.

"You two have had a good week and a half to be upset, now it's time for you to go back to being rational sentient beings." Hazard added.

"Trust me, you do not want to force this to go any faster." Twitch tried walking past them, but her squad mates refused to let her go.

"We'll heal from any bruises you give us. What we want is to know how this started so we can end it." The mechanic stated.

"And don't say it's not our business, because you know in a squad, it is." Hazard was right in his prediction of Twitch's words, as she stayed silent longer than usual.

"What are you guys doing?" Kat sighed, having nearly walked into her brothers' backs with Claws.

"Ending this before we wake up to a dead body." Streak didn't seem to be joking.

"Hey, he's a jerk, but I'd never actually kill him." Twitch scowled.

"'He' is right here." Tail crossed his arms angrily.

"Well, we've been ignoring each other for days. I didn't think you would notice if I did it for five more minutes." Twitch turned on her close brother.

"Well, I do." The medic growled.

"And I'm not in your head, so how did you expect me to know that?"

"How did _you_ expect _me _to know you wouldn't without asking?"

"You already _did_ ask, remember? And I said no, but you seem to think if you just wait a little while and repeat the same question, my answer will change!"

The rest of Zeta Squad stood quietly. Things didn't seem to be going up or down hill, so they would stay out of the conversation for the time being.

"I was hoping it _would_." Tail's voice suddenly dropped, no longer angry or raised, but somehow infinitely louder.

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me? If I said yes, I'd be star systems away. I won't get separated from you again!"

"Better separated than dead!"

"Are you really that sure I won't survive?" Now Twitch's voice was the quiet one. "Because strangely enough, that seems to be your impression now that we're in a_ less _overwhelming war."

"I need to talk to her in private." Tail looked at the others. They reluctantly left on silent feet.

"That includes you, Kat and Claws." Twitch added. Her instincts were proven right as the two stalked away.

_Okay, so now that there's no one here, what?_ The teenager crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly.

_Don't shoot me down for this right away, but I've been having nightmares._ The girl was about to ask what was so new about that when her brother continued. _And not the usual ones. These are extra-vivid. They feel like I'm awake, and I think I am until I wake up. _

_So?_

_So, in all of them, I see you die, and it feels completely real. I even feel your warm blood when I hold your body. I smell it, and I hear your last breaths, and…_ The scout looked away, breathing unsteadily as he calmed down.

Twitch sometimes hated that side of herself. The side that was willing to forgive because Tail was in pain. The part that was understanding and saw the good in people, even when she was furious with them. She treasured and hated that part of herself.

She grabbed Tail's arm and roughly sat him down on his bunk before closing the door and sitting next to him.

_Show me what you've seen, _she ordered.

* * *

><p>"How well do you think it's going?" Darys mumbled.<p>

"Well? I'd say they've probably thrown a few blows by now. I know _I_ would in Twitch's shoes." Kat grumbled.

"Why? She tell you something about this? Because so far, we've got nothing." Hazard rolled his shoulders. They were waiting in a seemingly abandoned walkway, leaning against the walls, pacing, or sitting down.

"Something about Tail wanting her to leave the army and go be a schoolgirl. A _normal teenager_, in essence. I can't imagine why, though, or what has him thinking he could _possibly _turn Twitch into a civvy."

"Is he crazy? Twitch would never fit into civilian life! Even _I _know that!" Darys furrowed his brow.

"Well, the one thing we can be sure about here is that Twitch will never back out of the army any time soon." Streak was sure of that as he said it.

* * *

><p>"How-" Twitch swallowed. Her voice was hoarse. "How long have you had those nightmares?" Both she and Tail were shaking.<p>

"Remember when Darys came looking for help? The nights before that. Adion nearly gave me a heart attack because I already had seen you die a few times." Twitch _did_ remember Tail waking up violently a few times.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She murmured.

"Would you have taken them seriously?"

No. She wouldn't have. She would have reassured Tail that nothing bad was going to happen to her and moved on, offering comfort if the nightmares repeated, but ultimately ignoring the dark premonitions her brother was experiencing. Now, though, after a fight that lasted over a week, and the already supernatural world they lived in, she couldn't brush this off.

"Okay, I wouldn't have, but even if I do take your nightmares to heart, or it's confirmed I won't live through this war, I'm not leaving."

"_Why not?_" Tail spat.

"Because I'm never deserting again. And I'm not backing down from something that we aren't even sure will happen." The scout suddenly hugged his sister.

"You're inexplicably fearless when you should be terrified and brave when you are scared. I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Twitch hugged back.

* * *

><p>Twitch blinked slowly, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the room. She wasn't woken by anything in particular, but a chill ran down her back when she saw that Tail wasn't in his bunk. For some reason, that scared her.<p>

She got up and shoved her boots on, slipped into her cloak, and for some reason, grabbed her electrostaff after she clipped on her belt.

_Tail? Hey, vod, having those nightmares again? _She waited for about ten seconds, but there was no reply. _I thought we were done ignoring each other. Tail?_ Still no answer. The teenager concentrated and closed her eyes as she walked, getting glimpses through her brother's eyes.

He was outside, but the wind was strong and it was cold. She caught a glimpse of a dizzying drop and a sense of desperate fear. Something was seriously wrong.

Twitch beelined for the nearest exit and looked at the rooftops, dropping her electrostaff when she finally saw someone standing precariously on the edge of a tall building.

_Tail!_ She screeched, immediately sprinting towards the nearest climbable structure. The girl made record time getting as high as she could before taking flight. For some reason, Tail wasn't moving. His mind was strangely empty.

_I'm not high enough, _Twitch panicked. _I can't reach him in time._


	15. Black Room

_A.N. ~ so, this is the last of the chapters I finished over the weekend, though Fourteen, as previously stated, will be up soon. Anywho, please enjoy! Oh, and not that you guys aren't used to it, but a sort of gruesome scene is up ahead. Mild compared to other parts of the series, but I thought I might as well warn you, out of habit :)_

* * *

><p>"Twitch!" Klairen Ghynna called from the ground.<p>

"Something's wrong with Tail! I can't get to him fast enough!" The lieutenant's panic could be heard in her voice.

"I'm going to Force-push you up." The Twi'lek called, a moment before Twitch ascended rapidly, wind catching in her wingsuit. She flew several feet above Tail, gliding and tackling him so they rolled several feet back onto the roof.

"Tail? What the kriff are you doing?" Twitch gasped, shoving her brother's shoulder angrily. His eyes stared blankly up at the sky, lifeless despite his rising chest. A cold, soft laugh echoed all around them.

_No. Oh, no, _she thought. That wasn't a harsh enough laugh to belong to a regular Possessor-class beast. As she probed his mind, Twitch could sense a deep-seated sense of despair.

"Twitch, what is wrong with him?" Ghynna had jumped up with the Force and stepped toward them.

"I think it's a Despair-class demon." She said weakly.

"Then we best get him to a medical bay."

"No!" Twitch suddenly came alive. A beast was trying to kill her brother. _Her_ brother. "Medicine won't chase it off. Maybe I can."

"Do explain." Klairen crossed her arms.

"Later. For now, I'm going to be completely vulnerable while I do this." Meaning, the Jedi had to guard them against any and all night beasts that appeared.

Twitch knelt behind Tail, cradling his head in her lap and closing her eyes, entering his mind. But this was different from the last times they'd shared a link. She was completely immersing herself in her brother's consciousness.

* * *

><p>A black room. Black rooms were bad. Black rooms were where bad things happened. A harsh circle of white light appeared around Twitch, surrounding her in a cylinder of illumination. A second such spot appeared, showing Tail.<p>

The scout was bent over, clutching his head and breathing heavily. The lieutenant instantly remembered what she was doing in the black room.

"Tail? Tail, what's wrong?" The older clone only knelt in response. His shoulders shook in silent sobs. Twitch dashed to his side, hugging him tightly.

"I'm impressed with his determination. He just would not jump." A cloud of swirling black smoke floated toward them: the demon.

Twitch reached for her gun, but found her hips bare. She tried activating her arm-blades, but her gauntlets had also disappeared. How had she not noticed that? Or had they only just vanished? Instead, she took up a defensive position, prepared to fight against an invisible enemy unarmed.

"Let Tail go." She ordered, voice steady.

"Hehaha! You actually thought that would work?"

"No. But I thought I'd try that before I threatened you. Now, let's try this again. Let Tail go, or you won't live like to see the next moonrise."

"Ha! Humans." Inextinguishable pain swelled in Twitch's chest and she collapsed, bleeding from her eyes, nose, and mouth in thin trickles. Tail watched in horror, recognizing one of the images from his nightmares. With their minds joined, Twitch knew this.

"See, Tail? It's been messing with your head for months." Her voice was tight.

"Watch her die, Tail." The demon hissed.

"Tail, this is in your mind. This is all in your head!" Blood cut Twitch off, swamping her throat. She couldn't speak, and it felt like she couldn't breathe, either, despite the knowledge that they were in an illusion.

"…stop it." The scout slowly said.

"What?" Victims didn't do this. The demon knew that.

"Leave her alone." Tail staggered to his feet.

"G-get back down! You aren't supposed to be like this!" The demon stuttered.

"I said, STOP IT!" A blast of fire shot from the clone's hand, encompassing and burning away the smoke; the power of his mind bursting free.

Twitch immediately began coughing, spitting out crimson and gasping in air. She didn't care if it was only an illusion; not breathing felt just as deadly then as it did in real life.

Tail's shaking legs gave out beneath him and he fell onto his knees and hands, panting. He slowly crawled to Twitch and scooped her into his arms, holding her more for his sake than the teenager's.

"Are you alright, vod?" She rasped. He made a short, sharp sound that was mostly air, though a 'no' was embedded in it. The girl twisted in his hold and wrapped her arms around Tail's chest, lacing her fingers over his spine.

"I hate to say this, but we need to return to reality." She mumbled.

"Okay. Okay. And thanks." Tail smiled weakly at his sister as they parted.

"Don't thank me. You're the one who saved both our shebse."

* * *

><p>Twitch and Tail slowly woke up, still in their previous positions. The sky was grey and a tinge of yellow and pink painted a creek of color on the horizon.<p>

_Kneeling for five hours. Ow, _Twitch winced as she slowly slid back, gently putting Tail's head down and lying while her legs painfully spread out. They were both utterly exhausted, having not actually been asleep. Ghynna got up from where she had been sitting with her lightsaber in hand.

"Twitch, is it over? Are you two alright?" The Jedi asked.

"Yes, ma'am." The lieutenant tried standing, but her sore, blood-deprived legs didn't even let her reach her full height.

"Twitch, you okay?" Tail mumbled, managing to sit up, clutching his head with one hand as blood drained from it.

"Yeah. You?"

"Can we go to bed now?" The scout blinked a few times to chase away the black patches in his vision.

"Only after you explain to me how you helped him fight off a Depression-class demon." Klairen scowled at Twitch.

* * *

><p>Keeli and Ghynna, of course, tested the validity of Tail and Twitch's telepathy, making sure to be discrete about it. The results were unnerving for the captain and confusing for the Jedi, who immediately left to talk to the Council; exactly the opposite of what Twitch wanted to happen.<p>

The teenager still got a bad taste in her mouth whenever she thought about how the Jedi had tried to break through her barrier.

The siblings stumbled into Zeta Squad's quarters, asleep almost as soon as they were under the blankets of their respective bunks.

When they woke up, it was because Kat had yanked Twitch out of bed and onto the floor.

"Unless you have a spectacular reason for doing that, I may or may not punch you." The lieutenant mumbled.

"You two are actually telepathic?!" Kat hissed, Claws standing behind her.

"Aw, kriff. I swear, you're Spitfire in disguise. Eavesdropping on the karkin' Jedi Council, though? Really?" Twitch slowly got up. Tail was watching blearily from his bunk.

_You aren't getting up? _Twitch asked.

_Is there a reason I should stop being comfortable because your sister found out?_ He replied steadily.

_Fair enough. Just once, though, I wish she'd push someone else out of bed._

"Hey! I know you're talking to each other. No one just stares off into space at exactly the same time as someone else." Kat snapped.

"Okay, okay, you know when we're talking. What are you trying to accomplish, exactly?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" The irritated teenager demanded, offering no assistance as her sister got up.

"'Hey, guys. Do you know what's for breakfast today? Oh, and also, we actually _are _telepaths'. Does that sound like something that would go over well with you?"

"No, but telling us in a not sarcastic way wouldn't hurt your chances. I can't believe you never told us!"

"Think about what happens to clones who have the wrong _eye color_. What do you think would happen if _telepathic_ clones were discovered, huh? Strangely enough, I have a strong desire for us _not _to become lab rats." Twitch snapped.

"Okay, there are risks. But your own squad?" Kat demanded.

"Better _safe_ than _dead_. You of all people know this." The girls squared up, glaring furiously at each other. Tail knew they were getting dangerously close to blows, so he got up and stepped between them.

"We didn't tell anyone because it was private. You know what that's like. Motives aside, you, Keeli, Ghynna, and the Council are the only ones who know, and it should stay that way." The scout fixed a hard stare on the teenager. Claws growled, but didn't move from where she was.

"Why? This is an advantage that—"

"That could get us killed, Kat. We are clones. We don't do telepathy. I wouldn't put it past Su to go to lengths to get us for experimentation. You got off Kamino fast, before you could remember what they did to us. You traded years of painful lab tests for a bounty hunting nightmare, so don't expect us to go around telling people that we are capable of this." Twitch interrupted, visibly tense.

"_Okay_! Okay. Fine. But you should know that Ghynna's on her way here, so you should probably be ready for some news." The feline-oriented pair left the room and their squad mates.

_Rrgh, she really needs a good dressing down, _Twitch stalked to her bunk and sat down with her back against the wall. She laced her fingers together to hide their shaking, but she doubted Tail didn't know. Tail always noticed the small details.

_And it looks like we need a break from being us. _Tail sat down beside his sister, putting a hand over her clenched ones. His fingers were scarred and rough, but slender enough to be quick and nimble. Twitch's were small and sturdy, also marked by past injuries.

_If we concentrated, we could probably form a landscape, kind of like last night in that black room…_ They didn't need to discuss it any further. The two closed their eyes and matched their breathing, slowly running through varying locations before finding one that made both their emotions relax.

* * *

><p>A full moon shone down on the clear water of a creek. Smooth grey stones of varying sizes made up the bed and occasionally broke the surface. Soft looking, feathery waterfalls came down in short ripples, reflecting the white light cast by the beautiful celestial body.<p>

The trees' leaves seemed to be a much darker green in the night, on one side silvery from the moon and on the other a shade of black pine. The bark was blackened by shadows on one side and dusted with light brown and white on the other.

The banks of the creek were carpeted by thick, soft grass, cushioning Twitch and Tail as they sat and watched the running water, which silently ran and fell.

"We need to do this more often." Twitch mumbled, lying on her side and resting her head on her bent arm.

"Mmm." Tail lay down beside her, one leg straight and the other bent, sticking his knee straight up.

They stared at the stars and the moon, marveling at the shades of the heavens that ranged from blue to green to purple.

When such peace and beauty surrounded her, Twitch actually believed she could manage out of the GAR. But then she returned to the battlefield, and felt adrenaline rush through her, and the familiar intensity with which she saw the world when her safety was at risk brought every detail into focus. Twitch couldn't leave her current life. She, despite the losses and nightmares, loved being a soldier.

With their minds so closely tied, Tail knew what his sister was thinking. And as he was, utterly calm, he understood. No other life fit them. It no longer mattered whether he had had no say in his occupation. The scout was exactly where he wanted to be.

"Someone's trying to snap us out of this." Twitch mumbled irritably.

"Kat _did _say the general wanted to talk. We better hurry."

Leaving the forest was like waking up from a good dream, at first offering a sense of comfort, then one of irritation at having to vacate such a nice place.

"The Council explained everything to me." Klairen said. "This is known to happen between two people who have a strong connection with each other. A very strong one, and the ability is selective. Some may be closer than you two are and not share this link." She explained. "If one of you dies, the other will live on. What have you been able to do with it?"

"Communication, emotional transmission, visual and audial sharing, and we just found out we can create mental landscapes if we concentrate." Twitch listed.

"We know how to block each other out, too." Tail added.

"An impressive range when you didn't even know what was happening." The Twi'lek crossed her arms.

"This has been happening for months." The teenager shrugged.

"Is it exclusive to our minds alone, ma'am?" Tail murmured.

"Yes, but the landscapes are new, so you've already been more creative than most. I assume you want as few people to know about this as possible?"

"Yes, ma'am." They both nodded.

"Can anything block our telepathy?" Twitch asked.

"Cortosis, which is not so surprising. It scatters your mental frequencies, so you should probably avoid it. What is your maximum range before the distance is too much?" Twitch's first instinct was to ask "why?", but she knew that that wasn't up for debate, so instead, she quickly went over their calculations with Tail.

"Probably around seventy miles." The scout stated. For some reason, the Jedi stared.

"Are you sure?" She asked slowly.

"Well, it's not a perfect number, but that does seem to be our general conclusion." Twitch wondered why this was so surprising."

"The farthest recorded distance between two people like you is forty miles."

_Thirty. Thirty whole miles, _the girl thought.

"How many recorded instances are there?" Tail asked.

"Not many. Most Bond Telepaths stay hidden if they can help it, usually because they don't know what's happening."

"Or in our case, how dangerous it is." Twitch muttered.

* * *

><p>The next day, Twitch went on patrol with Scuff, Clock, and Jay again.<p>

"Off the building?" Clock repeated incredulously. Tail's little run-in with the Despair-class demon seemed to have hit the rumor system, though how, no one knew.

"Not _off_. Something stopped him, so I heard. Twitch, what happened two nights ago?" Scuff asked.

"One of the men was attacked by a Despair-class. He nearly jumped off the roof of a building, but someone stopped him." She said.

"Wh—" The question didn't even slip out Scuff's mouth when a golden glare shut him up.

"For privacy's sake, no names will be mentioned. Suffice it to say, the event was nearly fatal." That was the end of speculation for a little while.

_So, you're actually bored? _Tail couldn't quite not believe his sister had already shaken off recent events.

_Bored? No. But, I don't want to stay still, either._ Stillness gave people time to think, and thinking often led to unpleasant memories.

_Huh. Well, Darys and Kat are heading to the gym for sparring._

_Ohhh no. Well, what do you think we should write on Darys' gravestone? _

_'Here lies Darys, our Umbaran rookie. A little too brave, since he took on our deadliest squad member', _the scout said.

_Hey! Since when is _Kat_ the deadliest? _Twitch barked good naturedly.

_Since she's more unrestrained._

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I may finish Chapter Fourteen in time to post it before going to bed, but it's possible I won't. Anyways, have a nice daynight._


	16. Brave Fools

_A.N. ~ seven chapters. I do not own Star Wars, only my ONs._

_Now that that's out of the way, things start happening in this chapter (sort of), so please enjoy._

* * *

><p>Unrestrained. Kat <em>was <em>more ruthless than Twitch most of the time, possibly due to her past, possibly because she had had less reason to hold back for longer than her sister. Unrestrained was part of her identity.

Kat was unrestrained on the battlefield, she was unrestrained with her words, and she certainly wasn't restrained during sparring, whether she and Twitch had their gauntlets unsheathed or not.

The teenagers were spinning and flipping back and forth, though their ears were starting to ache from the sharp ringing of metal clashing against metal. Eventually, they had to stop to avoid provoking their headaches.

Twitch was glad that the usual routine she and her sister had worked out was still in play. The yelling part of the revelation was over. Now was the adaption stage.

"Um, Kat, can I talk to you?" Darys asked quietly, walking around the corner of a warehouse that sheltered the girls from a strong wind.

She nodded, followed him away from Twitch, out of earshot. The lieutenant waited as she caught her breath, but held it after a couple minutes, having heard something that sounded suspiciously like a body being knocked against sheet metal and Kat's raised voice.

* * *

><p>THREE MINUTES EARLIER<p>

Darys didn't want to do what he was doing. But, he couldn't talk to Tail, because the scout would surely tell Twitch about his questions. Kat, however, could keep a secret and was close enough to the other girl to be of more help.

"Um, Kat, can I talk to you?" The Umbaran clasped his sweaty hands behind his back to hide their trembling.

As soon as the other teenager was beside him, he led her to the windy side of the building, where someone would have to be right next to them to hear their low voices.

"What is it?" The girl asked.

"I, uh…okay, I really am uncomfortable with this, so don't laugh." Darys scratched the back of his neck.

"What?"

"And swear you won't tell Twitch!" He scowled.

"Sure, sure, but _what _am I supposed to hide?" Kat crossed her arms against the cold wind.

"I need advice. I…I like her, and I don't know human customs with this, and the last time I tried anything like this, a trooper had to hold her back from attacking me, and—"

"Wait, try what?" Silence met the girl's question. Then it clicked. She grabbed Darys under his armpits and twisted them around, slamming his back into the wall of the warehouse and lifting him so he was on tip toes.

"You want to _date _her!? You want to _date Twitch_?" The Umbaran mutely nodded, eyes widening in terror. He suddenly decided he wasn't so scared of Twitch. "She already rejected you once, and you're trying again?! With _Twitch?!"_

"She was upset the first time because I followed Umbaran rituals, not human!" He defended.

"I am _not_ encouraging this! In fact, if you ever bring it up around me again, I will give you a free trip to the medical bay!"

* * *

><p>Twitch looked up to see her furious sister stalking over. Behind her, she spotted Darys limping away, looking back with big, hurt eyes.<p>

"What happened and why do I get the feeling you hurt him?" The lieutenant asked.

"Because I did. And don't ask what he said, I really don't feel like talking about it."

_I think we may still need that gravestone. I don't know what he did, but Darys really got Kat mad, _Twitch commented to Tail.

_'Rest in peace, you brave fool', _he suggested.

_That's about it._

"Hey, are you talking to Tail? Because that's really cool, and really annoying at the same time." Kat said.

"Sorry, it's become habit."

_Tell her I said hi, _the scout cut off their link.

"Oh, and he says 'hi'."

"You can hear each other? _All the time?_" The other teenager stared.

"No, we can cut the link and block each other out, but when we're not, yes, we can sense the other's surroundings." Twitch shrugged. "Wanna go without weapons?"

"Wait, my brain is trying to switch from 'super weird telepathic freaks' to 'sparring'." She was nearly socked for that one.

* * *

><p><em>Okay. Deep breaths. He's the only option I have left. Maybe he won't tell her, <em>Darys reassured himself, nearly hyperventilating as he walked into the Mess Hall.

Kat and Twitch were probably going to miss breakfast since they were sparring, as they always did, and Streak and Hazard were asleep due to having nightly patrols, so Tail was the only member of Zeta Squad besides the Umbaran in the room.

Darys got his food and hurried over to the medic, not particularly hungry, but doing it to be indiscreet.

"You're limping?" Tail peered at the teenager's legs.

"I upset Kat." He sat down and hunched his shoulders, wondering if it was really such a good idea to talk to the scout about his dilemma. Him and Twitch seemed to always share things with each other, and this was a subject that was very likely going to be passed on. But it was his only option.

Streak and Hazard weren't that close to Twitch, and Kat obviously wasn't going to be on his side, so what else could he do besides give up?

"And I suspect you might hurt me for it, too, but I want to ask you about something and I need you to promise it won't reach Twitch's ears." That had the older soldier suspicious, and he crossed his arms.

"And what is it you want me to keep from the one person in this base who can read me like a book?"

"Ugh…" The Umbaran didn't talk after that until they'd eaten their food.

"I have a duty shift in one of the control rooms in half an hour, so if you want to talk about anything, now's the time." Tail said.

"Um, I-I assume Twitch told you about what happened when we first met? A-about what I…" Darys' cheeks turned a startling shade of red-black, a stark difference from his usual dusty-white complexion.

"Yes, actually, she did." Tail re-crossed his arms, something he usually did when something that rubbed him the wrong way was brought up. Darys knew that body language. He always paid close attention to the subtleties of others' movements.

"Well, um, that happened because I was unsure of human customs and traditions, and I still don't really understand things, but now that she's forgiven that episode, I was wondering…"

"You were wondering if you should try again, but in a way that's less likely to land you in the med bay?" The commando guessed.

"Yes, and I also wanted your consent to something like this. You're the closest thing to a father she has, and you're her older brother, and on Umbara, we're supposed to ask—"

"Stop, stop. This isn't Umbara, and it's not _my _consent you should be looking for. Twitch is the one you need to have permission from."

"I know, but it's a courtesy that I want to keep a hold of, because it still affects you." Darys gnawed the inside of his cheek.

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't speak for Twitch. As for human traditions, they vary. Some people outright confess their feelings and hope for them to be returned, and sometimes the process is gradual."

"Well, last time I was outright with these feelings around her, Fives had to be sure I didn't get strangled." The teenager shivered at the memory of Twitch's raised voice.

"It wasn't your feelings she was so angry at as much as the way you expressed them. Physical contact of any kind, especially in _that_ sense, is restrictive for Twitch. She only allows affectionate touches from those she's close to. And you have to understand, she's never had a romantic relationship of any kind before. This is probably intimidating."

_…intimidating? _I _intimidate _Twitch_?_ Darys wondered. That seemed like an impossibility.

"So…what do I do, then?" He asked.

"As her brother, I'd tell you to forget you ever liked Twitch and leave her alone." The kid's shoulders sagged. "But as your friend, I'd say take it slow. Ease into this and respect her boundaries." That brought the Umbaran's head up again.

"I'll try that. Um, you won't tell her about this, will you?"

"Are you kidding? I don't want to lose another squad mate as long as I live." Darys somehow became paler.

* * *

><p>Shore leave after three months in the Beast Zone was an extremely welcome thought, even to Kat and Twitch. The 659th had lost only two men throughout the entire mission, and was trading places with the 212th.<p>

Naboo looked tranquil and inviting as the weary soldiers left the _Hunter_ behind and marched to the Military District. Claws immediately left to walk around the city, closely followed by Kat. The rest of Zeta Squad returned to their quarters, relaxing on seeing the familiar room.

_I'm going to visit Saundra and Tsudek later, _Twitch informed, dropping her duffel bag next to her bunk and placing her electrostaff parallel to it.

_Have fun. I'm going to head to 79's, _Tail replied.

_Do _not _pass out, because there is absolutely no way I could lug you halfway through the city, _she warned.

_I'm only going for a few shots!_ He protested.

_I'm pretty sure 'a few shots' are all it took, last time. _Twitch ducked a swipe and laughed. The others wondered what had been done to provoke the swing, but didn't comment.

* * *

><p>Once she was semi-unpacked, the lieutenant left to see if there was anything Keeli needed her help with before she would leave.<p>

The captain didn't need that much help, just wanted her to drop off a package to a building in the Techno District. Something about important files.

"They're fragile and you can't let anyone get ahold of them." Keeli said as Twitch hefted the small box, which was about three quarters of a foot long, four inches thick, and six and a half inches wide. "Only deliver them to Doctor Reusevelt."

"Yes, sir." She snapped off a salute out of habit.

"Easy, kiddo, it's just a delivery job." Keeli grinned.

"Sorry." She smiled before leaving. Near the exit to the Military District, Darys caught up to her.

"Hey, where're you going?" He asked.

"Dropping something off for the captain before taking a walk." Twitch replied smoothly. She knew she should feel guilty about how easily lying to people, even her friends, came to her, but the lieutenant didn't.

"Mind if I join you?" The Umbaran smiled awkwardly.

"Um, sure." Twitch hadn't been alone with her…she didn't know what to call him. Darys was at a crossroads between friend and acquaintance at the time, but regardless of status, they hadn't been alone together for a while.

A gentle breeze ran over the teenagers' faces as they walked casually down streets, passing many different types of aliens.

"So how are you?" Darys asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead. An Umbaran's blush was much more noticeable than a human's, so he had to be careful.

"Fine," Twitch replied in a somewhat higher tone than usual. "Glad, for once, that we get to be on shore leave."

"How long before you and Kat get bored and return to hunting?" Politeness that had been drilled into Darys' head kept his voice stiff and formal. He was aware of the unnatural drone that left his mouth, and he was starting to sweat and could feel heat rushing to his face.

Twitch would notice. He knew it. And the more he thought about her seeing his embarrassment increased it.

"Probably a few days. Are you alright?" Twitch grit her teeth. Sometimes, when she was nervous, her voice rose in pitch, making her sound far more girlish and unsure than she was.

"Yes, yes, perfectly. So, ah, what are you delivering?"

"Files, probably research information from _Mainframe_."

"And you thought you would need your guns, gauntlets, and cloak to deliver it safely?"

"Beasts still exist, there's been an increase in thug activity on Naboo since Coruscant fell to the Infecteds, and my walk is probably going to be a long one, so I'll be returning to the Military District after dark. Next question?"

For an idiotic moment, the thought of asking Twitch if she would consider going out with him crossed Darys' mind, but he quickly pushed it away and shook his head.

"I'm surprised you are so willing to run the risk of the night after so long in the Beast Zone." The girl was quiet for a while after that, eventually speaking.

"I guess I've just become jaded to all this. War, I mean. If anything attacks me, it's just another battle among the countless others I've fought." She shook herself. "Besides, what could possibly be worse here than in the Zone?"

"True. A few wraiths doesn't seem so significant anymore. Would, ah, would you mind taking me on a few hunts some time?" Seeing an opportunity to lighten the mood, Twitch smirked.

"Are you asking me out or something?" She joked. Darys nearly stopped and steadied his breathing, forcing a laugh.

"No, but since I'm involved in this war, now, too, I may as well start improving my combat abilities."

"An excellent point. Would tonight work, since I'm going to be out late, anyway?"

"I don't have any weapons." Twitch showed the Umbaran one of her DC-17s before reholstering it.

"You'll get used to it after a little while. Learning how to use multiple guns will help you in the long run. I'm sure you can imagine why." Darys could.

He knew his weapon of choice wouldn't always be available, and in some instances, being familiar with multiple gun types could easily be the difference between life and death.

"Anyway, we better get to Techno District quickly. I get the feeling having this package much longer won't do us any favors."

"Strange you should say that. Nothing so far has gone wrong." Darys commented.

"'So far' doesn't mean 'never will'. But it's mainly my paranoia talking."

_Something I better not ignore, _Twitch reminded herself of what happened when she ignored her instincts.

* * *

><p>To reach the Techno District, the teenagers had to cross through a fairly ratty part of Theed to make decent time.<p>

"Hey, kids, what'cha got there?" A wheezy voice asked. They turned around sharply to see an elderly man in torn, dull-colored clothing; probably a homeless refugee or local.

"Just a bunch of files on schoolwork and stuff." Twitch shrugged, hiding her unease under a calm front.

"Written on datapads and the like?" More people were starting to appear from the small buildings, surrounding them.

"Flimsi, actually." She replied. Darys inched closer to his squad mate.

_No, you di'kut, don't act nervous! _She inwardly groaned.

"Mind if we take a look?" A circle of people surrounded the soldiers then.

"I do, actually. We're going to be even later for class if we don't hurry." The man walked forward and shifted Twitch's cloak, revealing her guns.

"Never knew a schoolgirl to carry blasters before." He said softly, about a moment before all the people surged forward to restrain the children.

"Uh—" Darys tried to say something, but getting jerked around as his arms were gripped cut him off. "You really don't want to upset her," he tried again, inclining his head toward Twitch. The people ignored him. "She _really _doesn't like being touched…"

Twitch didn't bother with a warning. She kicked behind her and hit someone's knee, aiming for maximum pain and minimal damage. Then she unsheathed her arm-blades, nearly cutting off a few extremities and scaring off the hands holding her.

Darys took advantage of the distraction and slammed his head into the nearest nose it could reach, then began struggling and kicking, getting one hand free to throw a few punches.

There had been over a dozen men in total who had attacked them, but it took less than five minutes for the soldiers to leave behind over a dozen dazed and hurting people.

"That was fun." Twitch mumbled while nonchalantly checking the box over for damage. A few tears in the outer layer, but it hadn't been compromised.

"That's what confuses me about you, and all the other soldiers. You don't seem to be affected by killing or injuring other people." Darys sighed.

"Do you regret any of the blows you dealt in that fight?" The girl asked.

"Not particularly." He reluctantly admitted.

"Neither do I. Killing other people is a completely different matter, though. We don't always regret the lives we take, but sometimes we do. Circumstance is a large factor."

"So you do not regret Umbara?" Twitch scowled, looking at the ground in front of her.

"There is a lot I regret from Umbara. But during the first Battle, I didn't feel anything for the lives I took. The second time I was there, things hadn't changed too much. But the third time, I wasn't so indifferent. I can't say it keeps me up at night, but I'm not proud of the lives I've taken."

"I see. I apologize for bringing the subject up."

"No, it's alright. Eventually, you may be faced with a scenario where you have to kill or be killed, so knowing what the aftereffects might be is important. I just hope you never have to end another sentient's life."

"So do I."

* * *

><p>"Keep moving!" Twitch and Darys had run into a nasty person. He seemed intent on getting the package, at first lying about Keeli wanting it returned to the <em>Hunter<em> and that he would take it, then trying to take the box by force when he was refused.

Now the teenagers were fleeing the man, who was in his speeder, through the Techno District. It was too risky to drop off the package with him still after them, so losing him was their best option.

The man was human, looking around his mid-fifties with thinning brown hair and an annoying, pinched voice.

"Maybe you should take off. He can't outmaneuver you in the air." Darys panted.

"He might try catching you as a hostage. We stick together." Twitch also was afraid of getting separated from the Umbaran. She didn't want to risk losing a squad mate ever again.

"Give me the box!" The man yelled from his speeder.

"No!" Twitch barked back, drawing one of her guns and shooting a specific point on the vehicle. It sputtered out and crashed to the ground, forcing the teenagers' pursuer to continue on foot.

"How did you know to shoot there?" Darys asked.

"Experience."

_Twitch, you feel like you're in a fight. What's going on over there? _Tail asked.

_Some shabuir wants the package Keeli wanted me to drop off. He's been chasing us for a while, but he isn't much of a threat. I should probably just take him on right now._

_Not like he's going to beat you or anything._

"Hey, take the package. I'm ending this before someone gets hurt." Twitch ordered, handing Darys the files. He stopped while the lieutenant turned around and charged the man, jumping as she spun around to kick him.

Her cloak hid her leg, so the man got a foot to his face without warning before several punches into his stomach. He tried hitting Twitch with a cross, but she caught his forearm in the crook of her right elbow before slamming the heel of her left hand into his joint, snapping the bone.

The man cried out in pain before getting cut off by being tripped and landing on his back, winded.

"Next time you pick a fight, make sure it isn't with me." The girl crossed her arms, glared, then strolled to Darys as casually as if she had merely stopped to tie a loose shoelace.

"You're still scarier than Kat." He sighed as they continued on their way.

"That depends on where you are. If you're at the business end of her gauntlets, she's much worse."

"True."

_I take it you've dealt with him? _Tail could sense his sister was much calmer.

_He has a broken arm and bloody nose, so I'm fairly sure he won't be an issue for a while._

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ there, Kat2020. I figured since you seemed so against any pairing, I'd make your OC be fully against it, too. Her emotions and decisions, however, are up to you, so let me know if there's anything you want to have changed :) <em>

_For the rest of you guys, I'll get to work on Chapter Fifteen, but I have school and other stuff to do, so please be patient. _


	17. Count To Five

_A.N. ~ sorry for the wait. This is a short chapter, only around 1500 words, but it'll hopefully hold you guys over until I can get Sixteen written. Enjoy :)_

* * *

><p>"And watch out for a man with brown hair in his fifties. He's been after this for a while. Oh, and if he comes any time soon, he'll have a broken arm, so you shouldn't have too much trouble recognizing him." Twitch warned.<p>

Doctor Reusevelt smiled with a nod, holding the package to his body with one arm.

"Thank you, kids. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on them."

As they walked out of the science center, Twitch handed Darys a gun. The sun was setting, turning the puffy white clouds into gold.

"So, are we leaving the city?" The Umbaran asked.

"Easy, hotshot. We're taking this slow." Contrary to popular belief, Twitch could be cautious.

"Alright, in the city. Where do we start?" The girl smiled at her squad mate's enthusiasm, which was starting to infect her.

"One of the outer districts will have the most beast activity without being overwhelming, so let's head to Riverport District first."

* * *

><p>Kat glared defiantly at Wolffe. There was no way she was saluting to him, or calling him 'sir', or being his good little guard dog.<p>

Sinker and Boost stayed quietly to the side, somewhat weary of what was about to happen. They knew Twitch was completely capable of being terrifying, but they saw their commander as someone that absolutely shouldn't be pushed. The fact that they knew nothing about Kat only added to the tension.

High Command had found out about her little vacation to hunt down Cad Bane, and the punishment was her transfer to the 104th. After all, who better to teach the girl about how things in the GAR worked than Commander Wolffe himself?

"How long do you think the kid'll keep this up?" Boost asked quietly in Mando'a.

"As long as I want to," Kat replied testily, not bothering to stop using Basic. She was less than pleased with her transfer, and neither was Claws, who stood in an arc around the back of her friend's legs, body language suggesting she was going to attack.

"Glaring at me won't change anyone's decision, so you best get over it and accept that the _Triumphant_ leaves for Felucia in four days." Wolffe crossed his arms.

* * *

><p>"What are you kids doing out so late on a school night?" An officer asked. He had spotted Twitch and Darys as they neared the outer districts, and stopped them. "For that matter, what are you doing out so late in the first place? Beasts are going to be around soon."<p>

"We don't go to school." Twitch replied truthfully.

"Homeschooled, then?" The teenagers shook their heads. "That's illegal."

"We're unusual." Darys shrugged. Twitch unhooked her dog tag and handed it to the officer.

"Military? Give me a break. Come on, where do you live? I'm taking you two home."

"My name is Twitch, first lieutenant in the 659th and a veteran of five years. You have neither the rank nor the reason to take us anywhere, so return my tag, let us go, and I'll forget you ever rubbed me the wrong way." The lieutenant quietly ordered. Her voice was hard, but the man only chuckled.

"Roleplaying doesn't work on me, kiddo. Now, tell me where you live and I'll forger _you _ever rubbed me the wrong way." Darys backed up slightly, eyes wide.

"Ohh, no." He mumbled. "I really hope that wasn't meant as a threat." The officer nodded and the Umbaran began muttering a prayer to the gods he believed in.

"Let me explain this one more time. I am a lieutenant and this is my shore leave after three months in the karkin' Beast Zone. I have stuff to do, a rookie to test in the field, and am not in the mood for interference from anybody besides someone with the military rank of captain or higher. I am going to count to five in Mando'a, which gives you several more syllables to get out of our way than in Basic."

"This isn't funny anymore. Come on."

"Solus, t'ad, ehn, cuir…that's four. You might want to go." The officer grabbed her wrist, and Twitch sighed the last word. "Rayshe'a." She twisted her arm free before pinning the man against a building.

"Hey!" He protested.

"I don't want to hit an officer, and I don't want any trouble, and frankly, I doubt Commander Fox wants to see anyone this late. So close your eyes, and we'll…disappear." Twitch grabbed her dog tag, let the man go, and he turned to find the teenagers were nowhere in sight.

* * *

><p>Darys laughed as he and Twitch ran together on rooftops, hidden in the night.<p>

"I can't believe we did that!" He called.

"The di'kut had it coming!" The girl replied with a grin.

"Couldn't we get in trouble for this?"

"We could, but I doubt it. He had fair warning and proof that we were who we said."

"I guess you're right." They continued on to Riverport, just as the lingering light of the sun left the sky.

There weren't as many street lights as usual in the small district, so night beasts were likely to be plentiful. In fact, a small pack of werewolves was roaming around. There were only five, which was extremely unusual, but a welcome warmup.

Twitch killed one straight away with a headshot, and Darys hit another with a couple bolts in its chest. The three surviving monsters and teenagers charged each other, though the Umbaran hung back to shoot safely while his squad mate used her arm-blades.

* * *

><p>It was around dawn when the teenagers walked into the barrack, feet dragging. They quietly got ready for bed and were out like lights in five minutes.<p>

Kat, for once, had pity on Twitch and left her alone, and the others were quiet as they left. Twitch and Darys woke up around two in the afternoon, tiredly changing and pulling on their boots before leaving.

The lieutenant left before anyone noticed and headed for Ruby District, intending to apologize to Tsudek and Saundra for disappearing for three months.

_Tail, I'll be in Ruby District if you need me, _she said.

_You and Darys were out pretty late. Hunting?_

_In the city, straight 'til dawn. Worst idea ever, _Twitch rubbed sleep from her eyes as she walked.

_You know, I hear teenagers are supposed to have curfew. Something about needing sleep to grow properly?_ The scout seemed to be mentally crossing his arms, as usual.

_Don't even try it. You lack the willpower and restraints required to hold me._

_Right. Well, say hi to the parents for me._

_They aren't my parents! _Twitch glared, regardless of whether her brother could see the expression or not.

_Just your adopted ones. Have fun._

_Rrhg._

* * *

><p>Saundra bear-hugged Twitch the moment she opened the door, muttering about how relieved she was that the teenager was alright.<p>

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before leaving. I'll make sure you know next time." The lieutenant mumbled.

"You better! You had us worried sick!" Mrs. Lynn led her adopted daughter into the living room, where Jessie was crawling on the floor with a goofy smile on her face. Twitch knelt in front of the baby and put a finger out, cringing as a slobber-covered hand encompassed it.

"On a different note, how are you?" The soldier asked.

"I'm alright. So is Tsudek. He's at work. Can I get you anything to eat?" Twitch almost said no, but she realized how hungry she was.

"Yes, please. Want me to help?" Jessie crawled into the older girl's lap, hugging her and laughing.

"No, you've got your hands full. Besides, I don't think you know how to make a sandwich."

"Hey!" Twitch protested. "I can deactivate a bomb as large as your couch with my eyes closed. I'm pretty sure I can make the most simple meal in the galaxy."

"Oh, really?" Saundra grinned slyly.

* * *

><p>"I am a disgrace to human kind." Twitch sighed, staring at the messy stack of lettuce, nerf meat, and bread smeared awkwardly with different condiments she had created. Saundra chuckled as she started cleaning up.<p>

"Go play with Jessie. I'll get you some food." The soldier sighed and shuffled out of the kitchen with her head down, finding Jessie trying to scale the couch. In the back of her mind, Twitch could tell Tail was lounging in the barrack, cleaning his equipment leisurely.

"You could probably make a better sandwich, huh, Jess?" The lieutenant asked, picking up the child and sitting on the couch. Jessie merely squirmed away before crawling along on the pillows, watched carefully should she fall.

"Yeah, thought so." Saundra bustled in a couple minutes later, offering a plate that held a magnificent sandwich to the soldier.

"Thanks, Saundra. I don't know how you do it." Twitch grinned before starting to eat.

"Practice. So, how's Tail?"

"A pain, like all big brothers, but a good pain."

_I heard that, _the scout growled.

_Point?_ His sister replied.

"He's doing good." The teenager finished.

"Glad to hear. So, you were in the Beast Zone?" The wife sat down on the couch. Jessie crawled back and forth over their laps before settling in her mother's arms.

"With the 659th, protecting a research base."

"Anything interesting happen?" Saundra raised an eyebrow, and Twitch smiled as she shook her head.

"No, not really."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ yes, Twitch can't make a sandwich. On more important matters, since Kat has been transferred, I'll be splitting chapters more frequently between her and Twitch now.<br>_

**MANDO'A DEFINITIONS AND PRONUNCIATIONS:**

****Solus: [SOH-loos] each, one****

**T'ad: [tahd] two**

**Ehn: [ayhn] three**

**Cuir: [COO-eer] four**

**Rayshe'a: [ray-SHEE-ah] five**


	18. Some Sort Of Criminal

_A.N. ~ hello, people who read stuff. New, long chapter for you! :) Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Twitch entered the Military District around dinnertime, having left Ruby District before Tsudek returned from work. She had only gotten a short way into the buildings when a good dozen Royal Security Officers swarmed her.<p>

Her reaction was instinctual and instant, starting with her evasion of hands that attempted to grasp her arms and then a kick to the chest of one officer that got too close.

_Tail!_ She yelped out of habit. He could sense her surprise and the anxiety of battle.

_Twitch, what is it? What's going on?_ He asked.

_No idea, but apparently, these guys think I'm some sort of criminal._

Twitch hated her position, mainly because she couldn't defend herself properly. If she seriously hurt anyone, whatever reason she was being attacked for would be forgotten and that would be her main offense.

By trying to avoid injuring anyone, Twitch was far too vulnerable, and was restrained.

_Call Keeli. I'll tell you my location and he can come help._ Despite her apparent calm, Tail knew his sister was somewhat scared of the cuffs that were snapped around her wrists.

_Hang in there, vod'ika._

"Somebody _please_ explain what the fek this is about." The lieutenant growled as she was roughly marched past the wall that separated the Military District from the rest of Theed and toward a speeder, flanked by five guards on either side while two stayed behind her.

"You are under arrest for the assault and injury of an officer and the threatening of another." One of the expressionless men droned.

"Assault I can explain. Threatening, I haven't been doing." The girl muttered.

"Remain silent." Another guard ordered.

_Tail, what's the news? _Twitch asked.

_Keeli's on his way. I'm about fifteen meters behind you, about to do something probably stupid._

"Oi!" A clone's voice shouted, halting the procession.

_You're a di'kut, _the teenager sighed.

"What's she being arrested for?" The scout demanded, having caught up.

"Assault, injury, and the threatening of officers." The lead guard stated.

"Oh, really? And has she had a chance to tell you her side of the story?" Tail crossed his arms, glaring.

"All explanations shall be given later on, when we can verify whether she is telling the truth." The man said.

Twitch wondered how much trouble she would get into for escaping right then and there. She was capable of it, after all.

_Just stay put until the captain gets here, _Tail ordered, knowing exactly what the younger soldier was thinking.

"Tail, maybe you should wait for the captain," Twitch suggested in Mando'a.

"Hypocrite," he scowled.

"Tail, if you protest any more, they're going to take you in as my colleague, and I don't want you in a cell any time soon."

"Twitch—"

"That's an order, Tail." The girl cut off before returning to Basic. "I will come quietly." The guards continued, not sparing the furious medic a second glance.

* * *

><p>Twitch nearly attacked the man who entered the room. She stood, clenched her fists, then glared while sitting back down in the chair she had been previously waiting in.<p>

"Do you recognize this man?" She was hooked up to a polygraph, but that was of little consequence to her. She couldn't care less if she lied to these people, and knew that they couldn't catch her lies if she stayed calm. The lieutenant had vast experience in lying, so she wasn't too concerned.

"Yes. He's the one who tried to take the package I was delivering for Captain Keeli."

"Did you attack him?" The guard was emotionless, like a droid.

"He chased me for a long time. I decided that I could not safely deliver the package with him on my heels, so I broke his arm, then tripped him so he would be winded. I was not aware at the time he was an officer."

"Would your actions have changed if you knew he was?"

"Possibly. However, if he proved to have not been sent by Keeli, as he had, I would not have given him the package. If he pursued me, I would have disabled him." Twitch was getting sick of the continuous questions.

"Why did you not just deliver the package?"

"Captain Keeli was very clear in his orders for me to not give it to anyone except Doctor Reusevelt. If I had not disabled him, I would have put the doctor and package in danger."

"What was in that package that was so important?"

"I didn't ask for specifics, and whatever speculation I have, I will not repeat. My captain would have told me if he wanted me to know."

"Is it true you threatened another officer, only last night?" The questioner asked.

"If you are referring to the man who stopped me near Riverport District, I would like to know what he said I threatened him over."

"He reported that you threatened to hurt him if he did not let you go on your way."

"I did not say anything like that."

_Tail, I'm going crazy listening to these di'kute. When is Keeli interfering? _Twitch asked.

_Not sure. Just hold on, kiddo. And you pulled rank on me!_

_I had to. If you'd kept on talking, I wouldn't be the only GAR soldier in custody._

"Are you saying that the officer was lying?"

"Yes. I did not threaten him and gave him proof that I was who I said I was."

"Why did you skip to that?"

"I just thought that question might come up and wanted to kill it before it flew." Twitch leaned back in her seat, wishing for the interrogation to end. The sandwich Saundra had given her felt like it had been eaten days before, and she was tired.

"Are you adept at lying?" The man asked.

"Why? Does your fancy bracelet say that I'm an honest little angel?" The teenager smirked.

"Answer the question."

"If you're asking whether I've lied, no."

"Answer the question."

"You're worse than Dooku's torture droids. At least _act _human, for Force's sake. As for lying, I guess you could say I've had a lot of practice."

"Torture droids?" It was the first hint of genuine curiosity Twitch had seen, but that didn't mean she was going to indulge him.

"Oh, honey, you're going to have to take me to dinner before you get to hear more about lil' old me." She teased in a high, soft voice. She snickered at the downward twist of the guard's lips.

"This is ridiculous. The brat is obviously guilty!" The man who's arm the girl had broken snapped.

"Not according to your tech." Twitch grinned.

"You can't see the screen." He pointed out.

"Reflections don't lie." The men twisted to see that the polished metal wall did, in face, reflect the polygraph's screen. A tap on the glass of the observation room turned their heads to see a fully armored Keeli.

"Twitch, what did you do?" He asked.

"Better question, what did I _not _do? Apparently, I've been making threats I've never said…to that person, and assaulting people for no reason. I think someone's holding a grudge." A mocking lilt was in her voice as she looked at the injured officer.

He jerked forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing tightly.

"You're lying, you little brat." He spat.

"Prove it." She smiled tauntingly before ramming her head into his nose, which made him fall back with a loud curse.

"Ah, Twitch." Keeli sighed.

* * *

><p>"You shouldn't have hit him" The captain stated. He and Twitch were in a cell, talking about what had actually happened.<p>

"The shabuir deserved it." Twitch grumbled, crossing her arms. Keeli blinked at her strong language.

"What did he do, shoot you?"

"No, just threatened me and my squad mate."

"I've never seen you react to threats like that."

"Threaten me, fine. Threaten someone I care about and don't expect to walk away unharmed."

"Who was with you?" Keeli asked.

"Darys. He came along, but never actually hit anyone. By the way, what was in that package that had us running from a lunatic in his speeder?"

"Data from _Mainframe_. What happened with the guy you threatened?"

"Who I _supposedly_ threatened. Darys and I went out to hunt after dark. The guy stopped us, thinking we were students. I told him who we were and showed him my tag as proof, but he didn't believe us. After a short argument, I held him against a building before we disappeared. Unless he bruises easily, he won't even have marks from it."

"You hit an officer?" The captain sighed.

"No, he grabbed me and I pinned him. Never threw a punch."

"You should have just let him confirm your identity."

"He wanted to take us home. If I told him 'Military District', he wouldn't have believed me."

"Alright, bad decision to run aside, you've done nothing worth imprisonment. I'll get you out as soon as I can. 'Til then, just behave. I know you were planning escape routes earlier."

"Hey, planning and doing are two different things, you know." Twitch protested.

* * *

><p>The courtyard was full of different alien species of varying gender and size. Twitch only walked around, seeing plenty of different places where someone like her could escape easily. She didn't want to get into a fight with anyone, mainly because she was in a foul mood and quite ready to blow off steam.<p>

Imprisonment just didn't go over well with her, and she didn't like the awkward looks people were giving her. Normally, someone her age wouldn't be out like this, but Keeli had assured the warden that the lieutenant was perfectly safe on her own.

_Hey, Kat is making death threats and asking if you're alright, _Tail said.

_Besides being in a glorified cage full of people who act like they've never seen a teenage girl, I'm fine. Tell Kat to cool it._ Twitch could hear Tail's voice as he explained to her sister that she was less than happy with being confined and to stay calm.

"Tell her that she's a di'kut for letting a bunch of softies catch her." Kat ordered.

_Hey, for the record, the only reason I let them catch me was because things would've gotten worse if I'd fought back. If I didn't want to be taken in at any cost, I would've had those shinies on the ground unconscious in minutes!_

_I'll let her know._

"Hey, watch it!" The girl had accidentally bumped into a large Karkarodon while she was distracted by her conversation. She stepped out of his way and tried to continue on her way, but his webbed hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, how about a sorry." He snapped.

"Sorry." Despite it being only one word, Twitch sounded like she was reciting from a drilling manual.

"What kind of apology was that? Why don't I show you what happens to people who rub me the wrong way, Republic scum."

"You were Separatist?" The lieutenant asked, voice still flat and emotionless.

"A good help in the war effort, too. I was a commanding officer in the army."

"Oh, good. That means I can do this without feeling guilty about it." Twitch kicked the alien in his nose. "That was for any clones you were responsible for killing. You are extremely lucky that the war has ended and we are in a prison."

"Oh, cute. You care about clones." The Karkarodon laughed.

"And you take pride in commanding mindless, pre-programmed machines."

"Like your precious clones."

"Trained, not programmed, and far from mindless."

"Well, you make it sound like you can take me on." The two squared up, Tail watching with pity in the back of his sister's mind.

"I can, and I'd love to prove it."

"One-on-one, you and me, right now!" The aquatic prisoner clacked his teeth together.

"Gladly."

_You get into fights so easily, it amazes me, _Tail commented as Twitch and her opponent stalked toward an area where they would have freedom to fight without running into anyone. The Karkarodon growled at a guard that he and the girl were having a one-on-one.

The man's protests cut off under Twitch's glare.

_He was a Separatist leader. I know you heard that. I can't wait to teach him how effective Republic troops are._

_This I want to watch._

Twitch and her opponent began circling each other, drawing the attention of nearby prisoners. Soon, an inescapable ring of bodies surrounded them, cheering and shouting. The Karkarodon made the first move, trying to bite the girl.

She leaned back into a bridge and sprang off her hands before cartwheeling into a front-flip that led into several rapid, hard punches aimed at the alien's stomach before she jumped away. He swung punches and lunged in bites, but was too slow for his smaller opponent.

Twitch hit his head with a turning kick the next time he tried to rip a part of her out.

"Come on! Let's see some blood!" A female voice rose over the general call of the crowd.

"Then tell sharky here to stop moving so slow!" The soldier retorted. She used the same move on her attacker as she had on the corrupt officer, catching his arm and breaking it. The Karkarodon roared as he backed up, giving Twitch time to dart in and end the fight by tripping him and kneeing his head on the way down.

"You're pathetic!" The girl sighed. "I'm the youngest soldier in the GAR and beat you without taking a single hit." She stalked away, and the crowd parted for her as she went.

A hiss and the smacking sound of webbed feet stamping on the ground gave her enough warning. Twitch turned, grabbed the furious prisoner's arm, and flipped him over her shoulder, onto the ground. She stepped over his winded form and continued on to a desolate part of the courtyard.

* * *

><p>"You said you were a soldier?" A male teenager, looking to be about seventeen, asked, standing over Twitch, who was sitting with her back to a wall. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing his face.<p>

"You look like a clone cadet." She replied. The boy grit his teeth.

"Well, are you?" He spat.

"Yes, and are you a cadet?"

"No!" He growled.

"Easy, kid."

"I'm not a kid! I'm probably older than you!"

"Probably. It's just habit. I call anyone who's less experienced than me 'kid'.

"I'm not less experienced than you!" The teenager turned to leave.

"Alright, alright. Grief, you're touchy. Look, did you want to talk about something or not?" The boy paused, scowling, and eventually, hesitantly sat down beside her.

"I…just wanted to know how the Beast War was going. We aren't told much."

"Well, it isn't extremely pretty at the moment. We don't know where the beasts are coming from, but we have learned their weaknesses and how to kill them quickly. The Beast Zone is slowly growing."

"That doesn't sound too good." The boy muttered.

"It isn't, but neither did the Clone Wars for a while."

"Did you fight in those?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Ever served under Mace Windu?"

"No. Never actually talked to him. Why?"

"Nothing. So, uh, wh-what's your name?"

"Twitch. Yours?" The boy hesitated, closed his eyes, and said his name with a cringe.

"Boba Fett." That got the girl on her guard, but she didn't show any outward reaction.

_Twitch, that kid's bad news. He's a murderer. And a completely unaltered clone of Jango, _Tail warned.

_'Murderer' how?_

_Take-down-star-destroyers-murderer._

_Oh, great._

"I take it you don't want to talk to me anymore?" Boba asked.

"You killed a lot of your brothers."

"They're not my…" He paused, then sighed. "I don't know what they are. And I do regret the lives I've taken. And ever trusting Aurra."

"She's a bounty hunter, right?"

"Yes, and a ruthless one. Should never have listened to her."

"She made you take down that star destroyer, didn't she?" Twitch murmured.

_What?_

"What?" Tail and Boba yelped. "I mean, well…ugh, I'm an idiot!" For a moment, the lieutenant wondered if Fett was trying to play her, but she recognized that expression of masked guilt.

_Twitch, you're not actually pitying him._ Tail growled.

_Pity? Absolutely not. Understand, maybe. And don't interrupt. I have a mute button for you and _will _use it._

_Jerk._

"You're not the only one."

"I'm fairly sure you've never been manipulated into taking innocent lives!" Boba snapped.

"I wish you were right." Twitch murmured, staring at her boots as she replayed Umbara and Krell's final, brutal command as a Republican general.

"Been mislead by someone you trusted?"

"Palpatine, the hut'uunla shabuir."

"Lost someone you loved?" Fett seemed to be trying to find something to outdo Twitch with.

"Yes."

"Turn your back on the things you were taught?"

"I deserted the army, when I was ten. That was like going against everything I was meant to do."

"For you to desert that young, you'd have to be a…"

"Lantana Fett. You've probably met her."

_Twitch!?_ Tail nearly screeched.

_What, do you want me to reverse time? What's even harmful about anyone knowing now? _

_Listen to yourself! You sound like a-a…_

_Like a _teenager_? Yeah, go ahead and criticize me now._

"I have. 'The Golden-Eyed Demon'. Not friendly."

"No kidding."

"_You've_ met her?" The older teenager eyed the commando critically.

"Mhmm. Later in the second Clone War."

"Was she trying to kill you?"

"Well, she was the training sergeant for my squad, so just about." Boba huffed, trying to hide his amusement.

"That makes sense." The ringing of a bell startled Twitch.

"Okay, back to your cells!" A guard shouted.

The teenagers were just passing a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties to late teen years when a massive Besalisk lumbered over, glaring at the poor man, who was half the size of the prisoner.

"M-move along." The guard flicked his gun. Twitch noticed with a frown that his hands were shaking. The Besalisk had a furious glint in his eyes as he stalked toward the guard, who began backing up.

"Ugh, this is pitiful." The lieutenant muttered, stepping between the inmate and terrified human. For a moment, the two stared at each other, then the larger prisoner grumbled under his breath as he headed for his cell.

"What's wrong with you?" Twitch turned on her heel to face the guard. "If you can't stand up to a prisoner with a gun, what do you think'll happen if a riot breaks out and you lose your weapon?"

"I-I wouldn't last long?" The man guessed.

"No, you wouldn't. Most of these people would kill you without hesitation. Being ready to stun any without hesitation might help." The girl continued on her way, joined by Boba.

"Well, glad to know you're on the side of the angels." He muttered.

"You want to see the kid dead?"

"He's at least four years older than you."

"Still a kid."

* * *

><p>Twitch was bored. She had next to nothing to do in her cell besides in-place workouts like sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, and several others, none of which held any appeal for her. So, she lay on her bed and went through different scenarios and how to act in them.<p>

Prison breaks, droid or beast attacks, muggings, riots, and the list continued until Tail took pity and offered to help his sister create a mental landscape.

They returned to the moonlit riverbank, bumping shoulders in greeting. Then the scout swatted Twitch's head.

"You pulled rank on me!" He scowled.

"I didn't want you getting arrested, too." The teenager retorted.

"You're going to have me grey _before_ I'm fourteen."

"You're being dramatic."

"You're being yourself."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I've been meaning to get Boba into the storyline... Anyway, I have stuff to do, but I'll try to get Seventeen up soon.<br>_


	19. Coward

_A.N. ~ **THIS IS SERIOUSLY IMPORTANT!** **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS REFERENCES TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND IS RATED 'M'. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR IT! YOU**__**CAN SKIP THIS CHAPTER, AS THERE WILL ONLY BE OCCASIONAL REFERENCES TO IT LATER ON. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT KAT WILL BE JOINING THE 104TH NEXT CHAPTER AND TWITCH TALKED SOME MORE WITH BOBA FETT. NO IMPORTANT PLOT STUFF!** _

* * *

><p>Twitch was escorted by guards to a room that had a dim green light illuminating it and white walls. She scowled over her shoulder at her wrists, which were held in cuffs. Her gauntlets had been removed since being taken in, and her belt and guns had obviously been confiscated.<p>

"You are a little brat." A man said, walking from a corner of the room. The lieutenant tensed when she saw it was the officer she had injured.

"And you're a liar. We all have our faults." She replied.

"You should be more afraid of me, too." The man cracked his knuckles.

"I'm not that afraid of cowards. And the fear of physical pain hasn't been present in my mind for a long time."

"Let's test that theory."

* * *

><p>Twitch hunched her shoulders, sitting on her bed as her body trembled. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm down.<p>

Tail had attempting to break through the mental barrier she had made an hour earlier, when the officer began, but his sister was adept at keeping people out.

What that officer had done was much worse than any form of torture he might have used. The girl held herself tightly in her arms, but her unsteady breathing could not be controlled. Eventually, she let her brother back in.

_Twitch, what did he do to you? _The scout asked right away.

_I don't want to talk about it, _she stated quietly.

_Are you alright? _Twitch shook her head, then bit her lip. Tail hadn't seen her like this for a long time. She was shaken, scared, angry, and felt almost defeated.

_I, uh…just need a little while to calm down, _she said. The scout pulled them into a mental landscape, to their old quarters on the _Resolute_, when Pyro Squad was still alive.

He hugged Twitch, who was shaking even in her own mind.

"Twitch, you're safe now." The teenager began crying, startling her brother. He led her to his old bunk and sat down, still holding her. Eventually, she stopped, breaths shuddering as she regained control. "Oh, vod'ika." Tail gripped her tighter.

"He, um… He didn't beat me or anything like that, but, uh…" Twitch slowly let her brother see what had happened in the room, and his anger began to grow.

"I'm going to kill him." The medic clenched his teeth, not seeming to be making an idle threat.

"I wish you could, but if it led back to you…" She shook her head.

"Agh, this isn't just a matter of hitting you, Twitch. He-he _violated _you!" The older clone's fists tightened.

"I know!" She snapped. "But do you think it would help anyone if you were imprisoned or…worse?"

"Alright. Alright, he lives for now, but that hut'uun deserves a firing squad. Should I tell anyone about this? Keeli would help." Twitch's first instinct was to say no, to keep this entire episode private, but if the officer had done such a thing to her, who was to say other teenage girls were safe? What if some day, little Jessie was his victim?

"Only Keeli. I don't want too many people to know, and it wouldn't go over well if the men heard about this," she said.

"Alright. Hang in there a little longer, vod. If he tries anything else, show him why you're the first lieutenant of the 659th," Tail ordered.

"Will do. Can we stay linked?" That was the fifth time Tail had seen his sister as the child she was instead of a leader, or soldier.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>Twitch ate her food quietly, alone at a table well away from any other prisoners. She caught sight of brown hair and a menacing sneer across the room and blanched, then glared at the officer that she had fought. He hurt her, but she wasn't going to let him see how deeply.<p>

A spike in Tail's emotions, anger, was noticeable at the back of the girl's mind.

"You look sick." Boba commented, sitting down across from Twitch.

"You know those people who reeaally deserve a laser bolt to the head? There's one across the room." Fett twisted in his seat, but the officer had left.

"Let's hope he gets what he deserves." The older teenager muttered.

"Hear, hear." Twitch mumbled, eating the prison food without hesitation.

"You've only been here two days and the food hasn't made you throw up." Boba raised an eyebrow.

"Military rations aren't any better." The lieutenant smirked, making the boy freeze. He gaped at her with recognition. "Um…I'm not spoon-feeding you." She added.

"Coruscant detention facility. Remember?" He asked.

"No, actually. What am I supposed to remember?" Twitch wondered why Boba seemed so intent on this.

"You and I met there. You're still as sarcastic now as you were then." He crossed his arms, looking for all the world like a younger version of Tail with his short-cropped hair and posture.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I've never been incarcerated there."

"Yes you have! And you escaped on a nexu." Fett glared, as though the girl was lying.

"A nexu? You must have me mixed up with Kat. _She_ probably _was_ there."

"Kat?" Twitch swallowed the mouthful of food she had managed to get in, wondering irritably if she was ever going to eat.

"My sister. She has a pet nexu."

"Hard to tell you two apart." Boba murmured.

"Her eyes are a shade more golden than mine. So were you two at each other's throats or…?"

"We weren't attacking each other." He shrugged, tone suggesting they weren't exactly friendly, either.

* * *

><p>Keeli walked into Twitch's cell, surprising her. She stood and started to salute, only to be encompassed in his arms before her hand could reach her forehead. The lieutenant froze, but her body relaxed into the hold quickly. She hadn't realized how much she needed an honest to goodness physical hug, whether her CO's hard armor separated them or not.<p>

"You okay, kiddo?" The captain asked as he pulled away.

"Ready for action, sir." She smiled halfheartedly.

"Well, leave isn't over for a while, so you don't have to worry about that. I hate saying this, but you need to talk to Officer Monday again. We'll have a comm hidden on you." Twitch blanched, but nodded. "Are you sure you can handle this?" Keeli put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"As long as my hands are free. I want to be able to fight easily in case he does anything else."

* * *

><p>"You know, shabuire like you deserve to be dragged to a barn and shot." Twitch crossed her arms, leaning against the wall next to Monday, who seemed to be stalking her every time she left her cell.<p>

"You've got guts, kid. Talking to me after our little session yesterday? Either brave or stupid." The officer crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Like I said; I'm well past most fear. Rape is new, but it's not enough to intimidate me."

"Oh, isn't it? You want me to try again and see just how fearless you are?" The man asked, shoving his chin forward to run his tongue over his lower teeth.

"Go ahead, see how long you last against me when you don't start with a rock to my head." Twitch squared off with the man, glaring.

"You're a tough little soldier, aren't you? Even your upper thighs were well muscled." The teenager's fingers curled tightly.

"How many other girls have you violated, hmm? Teenagers, like me? I bet you're coward enough to even go after small, defenseless children."

"Watch your mouth, kid." Monday towered over the lieutenant, body language showing his aggression.

"Or what? You'll take me to a small room again and tie me down?"

"Maybe I will."

_Please tell me I'm done here._ Twitch nearly begged. Tail was with Keeli, so she could mentally contact them.

_Cap says he's got what he needs. Kick his shebs. You have absolute permission from the warden._

_Perfect._

"Let me show you what happens when I'm pushed." Twitch shot her fist into Monday's nose.

_How badly can I beat him? _She asked.

_Heck, kill him for all I care…_ The scout ran his close sister's question by Keeli. _He says you just need to leave him alive. Not joking._

The girl ducked a punch and jabbed her elbow into the officer's ribs. She didn't need or want to use her usual fighting style. She just wanted to beat the living daylights out of Monday.

The warden had already told his staff that the fight was likely, so no guards rushed to interfere from across the courtyard, though prisoners watched from a distance as the Officer was quickly defeated and kicked several times after he was down.

"Unfortunately, I don't have permission to kill you, or a barn and gun, but if you ever come near me again, I may not bother checking with my superiors." Twitch spat, turning and stalking away as she grabbed the hidden comlink. "He won't be getting up anytime soon. I sure hope you don't need him to talk today. His lip is going to be too swollen for that."

"Might make him try, anyway. A guard is waiting to escort you to the exit. You can come back to the Military District." Keeli replied.

* * *

><p>Kat, Darys, Streak, and Hazard swarmed around Twitch and Tail, asking about what had happened. Twitch shrugged them off and went to shower, leaving Tail to explain everything with a few warnings to omit certain parts.<p>

When the lieutenant came out of the shower, she grabbed her nightclothes, returned to the fresher to change, then went to bed, ignoring the fact that dinner was half an hour away.

In the morning, Kat regretfully announced that she had been transferred to the 104th and was leaving the next day. Everyone but Twitch was giving their condolences on the bad news. The lieutenant, however, smirked and patted her sister's shoulder.

"Wolffe isn't so bad if you stay in line. The rest of the Pack is looser than you think." She said.

"Right, well, I'll tell them you said hi." Kat grumbled.

"Just warn Strings that you're worse than me." Twitch grinned.

"Worse how?" The other girl just smiled. "Twitch!"

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I wanted to leave off on a happier note. Officer Monday is based off Detective Monday from 'Premium Rush'.<br>_


	20. Requested Presence

Twitch walked beside Kat, the latter wearing a belly top, pair of pants, and boots, all the same tan-brown shade. Claws prowled behind them.

"I can't believe this is happening. And I've known for days!" Kat groaned.

"Hey, I couldn't believe my first transfer, either, and it was to the 659th. Trust me, things'll smooth out after about a week." Twitch grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, you're just glad I won't be shoving you out of bed any time soon." The transferred teenager ribbed her sister.

"A definite up-side to all this." The girls roughhoused as they walked, trying to get the upper hand with minimal movement.

At the exit to the Military District, they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

* * *

><p>Klairen Ghynna intercepted her third-in-command quickly, telling her some surprising news.<p>

"Chancellor Mothma has requested your presence." The Twi'lek said. Twitch's jaw clenched at the title 'chancellor', but loosened quickly after that, as she remembered that being a chancellor didn't necessarily make people evil.

"Yes, ma'am. At what time?"

"Right away. Do you need a ride?" That sounded just about too familiar.

"No, ma'am. I can use my wingsuit to get there." The Jedi nodded and went on her way, while the lieutenant walked quickly to her quarters to grab her cloak.

_What's the new chancellor want?_ Tail asked.

_No idea, but I'm curious. Hopefully she doesn't want me to visit a medical center, _the teenager grimaced, putting on her garment before starting to head for the roof of a communications tower.

* * *

><p>Kat was amused by the gawking that most troops indulged in as she walked through the Mess Hall with Claws, nearly laughing as she noticed some of the clones blanching. Her favored smirk was present, often worn more than any other expression at any time.<p>

The teenager sat down at an empty table, rubbing her pet's head with one hand and eating with the other. She didn't mind the wayward glances or the raised eyebrows, nor when troopers hunched together to start murmuring, eyes flicking towards her.

The commando finished and left for the gym, drawing eyes there as much as she had been as she ate. Claws went to sleep in a corner as her friend attacked a punching bag, flipping and spinning as though it was a real fight, yet confining her movements to a five-foot radius.

* * *

><p>Twitch landed in front of the Senate Building, wishing she could pull her hood up to hide her face. It was a comforting act, to be hidden from a world that was still visible to her.<p>

The lieutenant shook off her discomfort and walked past the doors, beelining for a small map that had the layout of the building on it. Her eyes wandered over the Aurebesh writing, eventually finding the chancellor's office.

She went to the turbolift and rose to the second highest floor, stepping into a well-furnished, beautiful hallway with paintings hanging and varying plants hugging close to the walls in their pots. Twitch stopped in front of the guards who stood before a pair of large double doors that were made of polished wood. It looked like mahogany.

The guards removed her belt, then loudly announced, after asking her name, that Lieutenant Twitch had arrived.

"Send her in," a woman's strong voice called. The young soldier walked through the door that the left guard opened, coming face to face with a woman who seemed to have a couple inches on her, had red hair, and wore beautiful, creamy tan-white robes and a gold pendant. Blue eyes observed the new arrival.

Twitch saluted and stood at attention, but relaxed into parade rest after a gentle smile and wave of the Chancellor's delicate hand.

"First Lieutenant Twitch, reporting as ordered, Supreme Chancellor." The teenager stated, nearly smiling as she remembered how Rex was the one she'd learned the clipped tone of a soldier from.

"Lieutenant, I understand you've had some excitement recently?" Mon Mothma certainly didn't waste time with frivolous pleasantries.

"Yes, ma'am." Out of habit, Twitch's eyes unfocused and stared past the older female.

"And Officer Robert Monday sexually assaulted you?" The chancellor was either clueless to people's emotions, or believed the commando's were hardened enough to handle such a question.

"Yes, ma'am." The girl's voice was slightly strained.

"I will be blunt. You have operated in the military for two years, and the three years before that, you were still involved in the war. That is an awful lot of service for someone so young. And you have recently had a troubling episode with a man. So, I am relieving you of your current duties." Twitch's eyes involuntarily narrowed into a scowl and her hands grasped each other behind her back.

"All due respect, ma'am, if I am expelled from the GAR, I won't just stop being everything that I am. I don't know any life besides a soldier's."

"I know. But I never said I was removing you from the army, just your current post. Ko Sai and the other Kaminoans couldn't contain all the clones of Lantana Fett they had accidentally made. Like you, Kat, and Spitfire, several escaped, all at varying ages. I want you to track them down and find out who they are, what they can do, and try to recruit them. Also, I think it would be in your best interests to take a break from being around men." That surprised the soldier.

"You want me to drag other children, some possibly younger than I am, into a war, ma'am?"

"I want you to make an elite squad of people who have experience that most others don't. Their enlistment will be completely voluntary. At the least, we'll know where they all are, what names they go by, and their allegiances. Lastly, I want you to be the captain of this squad."

"Chancellor, many of them may not want to be found or tracked. If they're rogue, they likely want to stay off the charts."

"Something we both know is a luxury no one is allowed. Lieutenant, do I have to make this an order?"

"No, ma'am. I'll find them. How many escaped Kamino?"

* * *

><p>Kat hadn't had quarters to herself for a long time, but she was glad to have them. A fresher was attached to the room, a single bunk was pressed into a corner, and an equipment locker waited to hold whatever she didn't need on hand.<p>

Claws seemed happy enough with the small room, curiously sniffing everything she came in contact with. The nexu went to investigate the refresher while Kat unpacked, putting her clothes on the top shelf of her locker and tucking her duffel bag at the foot of her bed.

"Felucia, huh? What do you think is so important on the Plant Ball?" The teenager called after Claws, who was looking the shower over curiously.

The nexu growled, flicking her tail dismissively. A clear, 'I don't care' sign.

"Yeah, okay. As long as we aren't doing something boring."

* * *

><p>Twitch hid the credit chip Chancellor Mothma had given her in a hidden compartment on her left gauntlet. She then climbed the nearest building that she could before taking off and gliding back toward the Military District.<p>

_Vod, I've got some bad news, _she sighed.

_What happened? _He could sense her irritation.

_The chancellor is sending me to track down other clones of Lantana. I'm leaving as soon as possible._

_Why does she want you to do this? _The scout growled, crossing his arms.

_Primarily so she knows who's who and where they all are, what they can do, but she also wants me to recruit as many as I can to form an elite squad._

_She actually wants to bring more kids into the war? _He demanded.

_I asked that, too. She didn't really give me an answer as to why, just dodged the question by saying it was completely a voluntary enlistment system. I'm going to hack her databanks and see what exactly she plans on doing._

_That's my little criminal, slice into the Supreme Chancellor's files, _Tail rolled his eyes.

_Hey, I really don't trust anyone who's a chancellor anymore. Besides, these girls are deserters, like I was. We both know how deserters are looked at._

_You don't think this is a blood hunt, _Tail frowned.

_Could be. And I'd like to know if it is. Those clones are exceptions to the regular deserter ethics. Their positions were unique. It was either Kamino and death or desertion. _

_Just don't get caught, _the medic was starting to understand the female deserters.

Twitch landed a short while later inside the Military District, going directly to Zeta Squad's quarters. She grabbed her duffel bag, stuffed any clothes she had into it after roughly folding them, and made sure her belt was secure.

She grabbed her electrostaff, then left to find the rest of her squad to say goodbye and tell them what was happening.

* * *

><p>R2-K5 was a lively, green-paneled astromech with a mainly white outer body. He beeped in greeting as Twitch entered the <em>Lambda<em>-class shuttle Chancellor Mothma had given her.

"Artoo Kay-Five is a bit of a mouthful. Mind if I call you Kayfe?" The lieutenant asked as she walked toward the cockpit, followed by the astromech, who beeped and trilled in agreement. Suddenly, the teenager was glad R2-D2 had spent so much time around the troops of the 501st, else she wouldn't have any idea what her new companion was saying.

"Great. Well, the chancellor said that the only two girls they know the general locations of are somewhere on Mandalore, so that's where we're starting." Kayfe rocked back and forth on his treads before beeping excitedly and heading for a socket to set their course.

After they took off, quickly leaving Twitch and Tail's telepathic range, and after an hour into the flight, Twitch got desperately bored, having double checked all the systems present. She busied herself looking for trackers or listening devices, finding none.

That gave her absolutely nothing to do besides sleep, eat, or practice. The teenager chose the latter and spun, jabbed, and swung her electrostaff. Kayfe watched from a safe distance, studying Twitch's movements.

* * *

><p>Kat and Claws, on entering a larty bound for Felucia's surface, found that a number of undead had been terrorizing the planet. That was a good enough reason as any for them to go down.<p>

When they landed, pale humanoids of varying species attacked. They had white, bloodless skin, decaying flesh, and were missing parts of their bodies, sometimes displaying bones. Torn clothing adorned their forms.

Claws leaped on an Ithorian, biting its head clean off, spitting it out, and going after a pair of humans. Kat activated her gauntlets and jumped at a Twi'lek with ice-pale, blue skin, cutting his forearm off, dodging a swing, and shredding his chest before removing his head. Other troops shot their opponents.

* * *

><p>Twitch and Kayfe had been on Mandalore for a full day with no success, going from city to city, searching for and investigating human teenagers with golden eyes. Their first score was Enceri, which was actually near a sort of refuge for clone deserters known as Kyrimorut, also the home of the Skirata Clan.<p>

Kyrimorut was a large farm, spanning out for acres with crops of all kinds and displaying pens of many animals, nerfs among them. Twitch noticed multiple workers, many clones, as they walked toward a large building that was likely where everyone slept and ate.

A man with a bald head and a friendly smile intercepted them.

"Welcome. My name is Munin Skirata." He said in Mando'a.

"Mine is Twitch," the teenager responded in kind.

"You have a bit of an accent. I take it Mando'a isn't your first language?" Munin asked, switching to Basic.

"No, it isn't. I apologize for intruding on your territory, but I'm looking for some girls, probably around my age. Golden eyes, black hair. I heard they might be here?" Skirata crossed his arms with a contemplative look, eyes squinting.

"Why are you looking for them?"

"So they _are_ here? You've probably noticed some similarities between me and them. Golden eyes aren't so common, after all. I just want to talk to them." Kayfe beeped indignantly, asking about a chance to recharge. "Soon, buddy." Rubbing the astromech's domed top.

"Alright, follow me. The kids are in the barn, tending to one of our strills that was injured." Twitch followed Munin, who walked with a brisk pace. "You seem to understand Mando speech patterns. You 'apologized for intruding on my terrain'. Not standard wording." He commented.

"I'm still learning," the lieutenant admitted.

"Learning or not, you're doing quite well. Self-taught?"

"Yes." The soldier was surprised to see how many deserters there were. It must have been hard for them to all get here. She knew some clones probably died finding their way to the farm, either caught and executed or killed through other means.

A massive barn towered over the three as they approached it, and the doors were twenty feet wide and tall. Inside, two girls were kneeling over a furless, six-legged animal, bandaging gashes on it and cleaning away blood.

One looked up and nudged the other, who saw Twitch and gasped happily. The older seemed about thirteen, the younger roughly ten.

"You got away from Kamino, too, right?" The thirteen-year-old asked.

"Yes. My name's Twitch."

* * *

><p>Cheshire, the younger of the two, was aptly named, being small and feline in her movements, yet quite able to disappear without a whisper of sound, topping Twitch's ability to do so easily.<p>

Songbird was nicknamed by some clone deserters who heard the girl indulging in her love of music by singing.

As it turned out, Songbird had escaped from Kamino when she was eleven, and by chance found and brought along Cheshire. The two girls were inseparable ever since, despite the younger's pacifistic, quiet nature and the older's much bolder, joking attitude.

Munin, once seeing that Twitch wasn't a threat to his adopted daughters, left them alone in the barn to talk.

"So, you're saying you _joined _the GAR?" Songbird asked.

"Nearly three years ago, give or take a month. Also, I've met two other clones of Lantana Fett; Spitfire, and Kat."

"Really? What are they like?" Cheshire's wide eyes appeared foreign to Twitch, despite matching her own. They were innocent and curious, seeming to never have seen the horrors of war.

"Well, Kat is…Kat. She's got a pet nexu, a very enthusiastic personality, and has a defiant streak to her. She'll take on a pack of werewolves all alone, unarmed and naked if she feels like it. Crazier than I am. Spitfire was twelve, competitive and feisty. Impatient, and we were always squabbling over training and who had more experience and the like."

"Wait, why're you referring to her in the past-tense?" Songbird looked up from the skrill she had been working on earlier, bacta smearing her fingertips.

"Because she died about a year ago, during a campaign on Vhalan. A rollie snuck up on us, and we didn't see it in time." Twitch's voice became somewhat hoarser. Cheshire looked sad, but not surprised. Songbird pursed her lips.

"Sorry to hear that. So, ah, how goes the Beast War?"

"The Beast Zone is slowly growing, but we've done a lot of research on monsters. We know most of their weaknesses, attacks, stuff like that. Also, that's sort of why I came. A small number of female clones escaped Kamino, like us. Chancellor Mothma sent me to find you and pass on a request. She wants me to find as many of us as possible and give you the option to join the GAR as members of an elite squad. You can refuse if you want to stay here. It's completely your choice."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ I'll try to have more of Kat next chapter. I'm breaking my habit of centering nearly solely on Twitch, so please be patient.<br>_


	21. The Price Of War

_'War isn't safe, and it definitely isn't easy. A lot of soldiers die out there. As a soldier, you can't guarantee your survival. If you join, you won't be safe. You will run the risk of dying before your next birthday, and you could end up crippled forever. If you decide to spend the rest of your lives in the GAR, you won't die old, or peacefully. Many soldiers die unremembered, quickly forgotten, as though they never existed.'_ Twitch's words haunted Songbird and Cheshire that night.

The girls reran that conversation through their minds over and over again.

_'That's awful!'_ Cheshire had gasped.

_'Twitch, did you decide to stay in the army forever?'_ Songbird was sad to hear her sister say yes, to admit she had accepted that someday, her name would be on the casualty list and her lifeless body burned.

_'I probably won't live to be an old woman, but when I go, I'm taking as many enemies with me as possible,' _the older girl had smiled at that, as though it was some sort of joke.

The lieutenant had told Munin about her request, and he saw it as a good chance for Cheshire and Songbird to become warriors, but hoped they would be the kinds of warriors that returned home alive.

* * *

><p>Kat had to admit, the men of the 104th were certainly experienced, ferocious fighters. They'd been fighting for hours and not lost a single man. Piles of undead were present, shot or otherwise finished off.<p>

It was a good battle, and not a high-risk one since the monsters could do little damage to plastoid armor, if they got close enough to even hit anyone.

Claws was exhausted, though. Nexus weren't known for their endurance. She was quite ready for a large meal and long sleep.

One encouraging thing was that the waves of undead were thinning. Perhaps a solid perimeter could be set up before the moon reached its zenith.

* * *

><p>Twitch helped around the farm the next day, giving her sisters time to think. She helped clean up in the kitchen, feed animals, and even got the 'privilege' of helping tame some recently caught skrill. She was lucky her gauntlets could withstand animal teeth.<p>

At dinner, once the suns set, she could hear the screeches of grievers. The livestock had been moved into the massive barn, so they would be safe.

"Did you hear something?" Cheshire asked. She, Songbird, and Twitch were at one of the heavy wooden tables alone. The girls paused, holding their breaths. Snarling from beasts was still audible, but there _was _something else.

Twitch had heard clones screaming many times, usually when they were in pain or terrified, so she recognized the shouting instantly. The lieutenant vaulted over the table and ran for the door, battlefield instincts taking over.

"Wait, we aren't allowed to be outside at night!" Songbird yelled, running after the older girl.

"Stay inside!" She ordered while unlocking the door. When she opened it, the screams could be heard much more clearly.

Twitch had relinquished her guns to Munin, since one of his terms for her presence was that she didn't have any firearms. Her gauntlets, as far as he was concerned, were just armor.

Having no long-range weapons was of little consequence when another person was in danger, though. The commando sprinted under the moons' light, on full and the other halfway there, toward where three grievers surrounded a clone.

She whistled, drawing the beasts' attention to her just before the girl unsheathed her arm-blades and sliced two of the nearest monster's legs off. She dodged its tail and continued quickly cutting off metal limbs until the griever collapsed.

The remaining creatures advanced toward Twitch and she backed up, drawing them away from the clone.

"Run," she said loudly, only riling up the grievers more. The clone seemed to hesitate, looking at the severed, spear-like limbs as though he was contemplating if he could use them as weapons. "Double time, trooper! Move it!" The girl barked, which launched the monsters into attack and the deserter into a sprint toward safety.

Unfortunately for Twitch, though she managed to disable the remaining grievers, she couldn't effectively kill them without a gun, so she decided to leave them, since they wouldn't be moving, anyway. Just as she started running, one of the beast's tails swung at her. She saw the movement out of her eye's corner and twisted to block, crossing her arms into an X over her chest.

Twitch was knocked several feet away, landing on her back with a bark of pain. Something in her right shoulder had just cracked. The teenager slowly got up, holding her right arm in her left, and stumbled back to the building, where people were crowded at the open door.

A clone ran out to escort her back inside, most likely a former medic, judging by the way he was examining the lieutenant's shoulder.

Inside, he sat her down and began gently pressing Twitch's upper arm and back, feeling for what had clearly gone out of place.

* * *

><p>It was dawn. The undead had been driven back and the 104th soldiers had set up camp a fair distance from the battlefield, organizing shifts so the exhausted and injured could sleep. Kat and Claws had helped set up before promptly drifting off, right beside their tent.<p>

When the Kat woke up, it was around noon. She left Claws to sleep, quietly finding a guard and telling him to go rest while she took up his post, scarfing down a ration bar as she scanned for movement.

Claws joined her, sniffing the air before walking off into the jungle, intending to hunt. The nexu went a good few miles before finding the nest of some kind of animal, most likely a flying creature since there were no footprints.

Several large, bald bird-like things were inside, plump and seemingly defenseless. Claws jumped into the nest and killed them, starting to eat quickly. She hadn't ate for days, since the last time she'd gorged.

Nexus had a very lion-like approach to their eating habits. They killed enough to stuff themselves, and that held them over for several days, maybe even a week, before they hunted again. That was why Kat's companion hadn't eaten any of Wolffe's men.

A furious shriek startled Claws, and she looked up to see that a flying, pink-feathered animal as large as she was diving with outstretched talons toward her. The nexu didn't wait to find out if she could eat it and ran, ducking through the smelly, large plants with the bird dive-bombing her continuously.

When Claws returned to camp, Kat ran out to meet her, eyes wide as she looked at the bloody gashes on her friend.

"Looks like you tangled with the wrong beastie." She commented, starting at the screech of something with an animalistic voice. A shadow crossed over them and Kat drew her guns, aiming at the massive, feathered animal that was swooping in to attack.

A couple laser bolts later, and they were standing over the carcass of the largest bird she'd ever seen. "Huh. Well, here's dinner for you." Claws grabbed the bird and walked with her companion back to where the teenager had been guarding, lying down to lick her wounds.

* * *

><p>The medic had had to operate on Twitch's shoulder to set everything back in place, and she woke up on a soft bed with her arm in a sling.<p>

Cheshire and Songbird were sitting on the floor, playing sabacc. It was surprisingly similar to the way most clones waited for their friends.

"Hey, guys." The lieutenant rasped. The game was instantly abandoned as the younger pair went to Twitch's side.

"How do you feel?" Songbird asked.

"Like I got hit by a griever. Is the guy they chased alright?" The soldier sat up, wincing as her shoulder began aching.

"Quill? Yeah, besides having Munin give him the scolding of his life for being out past dark, he's fine." The thirteen-year-old shrugged.

"At least he was smart enough to scream for help." That was when Twitch realized she was in a dress, which left her shoulder free and easily accessible. She immediately looked to see if her scars were showing, even though she already knew they were.

"Hey, it's okay. Battle scars are nothing new around here." Songbird comforted. The older girl almost corrected her, but decided that it was fine if battle scars were all her sisters thought they were. The other clones would know the difference, but that was fine. They wouldn't comment.

The girls went downstairs to get breakfast, which would be cold by then. That was of little consequence to them, as they'd all not eaten for hours.

"So are there any guys from the 501st here?" Twitch asked after swallowing a mouthful of nuna egg.

"Dunno. We don't give our pasts here." Songbird shrugged. Cheshire had disappeared, but popped up several minutes later with a box of something in her hand.

"Anyone want chocolate?" She asked. The older two grinned, and the commando was more than happy to have the sweets, since such a thing wasn't common in the military.

"I should warn you, there is no chocolate in the GAR. Gotta buy that on leave." She warned.

"Ooh, no chocolate? Mm, that's definitely an issue." Songbird faked seriousness, shaking her head.

"You know, you're not doing a very good job of selling this whole military thing." Cheshire pointed out.

"I'm not going to lie about the stakes…or the food. You should know what you're refusing or agreeing to." Twitch smirked as she bit into some buttered bread, which was infinitely better than the usual hard lumps of baked dough that was GAR standard.

"Why don't _you_ stay _here_?" Songbird raised her eyebrows.

"Because I have a close brother back home and a squad that I care about, not to mention that I'd explode if I tried being a civilian. I just don't fit outside the army." Twitch shrugged her left shoulder, which still moved her right one and hurt.

"You didn't seem afraid of those grievers at all. You fought them without any guns like they were nothing." Cheshire stared at her food with wide, worried eyes.

"Grievers are some of the most common beasts out there. They aren't that bad if you're used to them. Just watch their tails. Kat and I have both learned those are the worst parts of them, after appearances." That eased the tension and they finished eating before leaving to do chores.

Well, Twitch tried to. But, Skirata stopped her when she was only a few feet out the door.

"Uh, uh. You're not going to be doing any farm work with your shoulder like that and in a dress. You can help in the kitchen." He gently turned her around. She nearly saluted, but since her right arm was in a sling, she somehow managed to stop.

* * *

><p>The night was cold as the soldiers of the 104th moved, slipping through the local fauna quietly. Claws was low to the ground, gliding silently beside Kat.<p>

The nexu seemed to be after something, as she was sniffing and softly growling every now and then. Soon her fur was bristling.

"Kid, I think your pet's got something on his paw." A nearby trooper hissed. The teenager looked to see some sort of black gunk stuck to Claw's right foreleg. Every few seconds, the nexu would sniff it and raise her head, as though looking for something.

"Looks like that stuff the undead were covered in." The monsters had been dripping the ooze like it was blood, and Claws seemed to be trying to pick up a trail.

Suddenly, she ran past Kat and out of sight.

"_Kid, what's your nexu doing?_" Wolffe snapped over the comm.

"I think she's tracking something. Some of that black stuff the undead had is on her paw. Common method for hunters when they're chasing their prey."

"_Right. Are you sure she isn't looking for food?_"

"No, she ate earlier. Won't be hungry again for days." A nexu's roar caught everyone's attention. "I think she found something." Kat let out a short, low whistle. Claws ran to her side, nudging her and walking impatiently toward where she'd gone before returning to the girl.

Wolffe and Plo Koon made their ways back to them, and the nexu whined, nosing the Kel Dor Jedi and tugging gently on his robe. She pawed him, and he examined the black goo carefully.

"Let's see what she's found." Koon said, walking in the direction Claws had been trying to lead him in. Kat followed, outdistanced by Wolffe.

The rest of the men trailed behind, and the nexu led them straight to a massive, black bulb. Roots, also dripping black gunk, trailed out, and every now and then, pale forms would travel through the translucent tubes, into the bulb, and then were spat out after a few minutes, undead and mindless.

"Commander, I think it would be best if we destroyed that plant quickly." Plo said in a low voice.

Just as Wolffe lined up to throw his thermal detonator, pale, screeching forms flooded around them, leaving no escape for the troops.


	22. What're We Doing Today?

_A.N. ~ sorry that I missed yesterday. Had a little trouble writing this chapter and wanted a day off from using my brain, but I had motivation to finish this one today. Something about a chair and my face *smirks*._

* * *

><p>Songbird and Cheshire were conflicted, afraid, and unsure. So, they went to the one who always seemed to know what to do when they were in such states.<p>

Stitch was a deserter of five years. He was wise and steady; the two things the girls needed.

"Ugh, I don't get it! Even after she got hit by that griever and told us the ugly truth about war, I'm still not sure I don't want to go!" Songbird growled, thoroughly frustrated.

"I'm already scared of what she's described, and part of me actually _wants_ to get involved. This makes no sense." Cheshire sat down, her usual quiet demeanor forgotten as she mulled over her conflicting emotions.

"You two've been asking yourselves the wrong questions." Stitch sighed, getting up from where he'd been kneeling in a massive garden. "You're only asking if you want to go, and that's part of it, but you really need to see if you're prepared to risk your safety for this. She's right that you could be killed or injured. Are you able to look death in the eye and shoot at it?"

"I have no idea how to shoot anything." Cheshire mumbled. The older clone smiled and squatted in front of her.

"I'm pretty sure that's part of basic training. I don't think she's going to have you in the middle of the Beast Zone without teaching you what you need to know."

"If we knew we could leave again, in case we didn't like it, that would make this so much better." Songbird crossed her arms.

"Well, has Twitch told you that you wouldn't get to leave?"

"Need to ask her about that…" The older of the two girls face-palmed. "That was kind of obvious. I feel kinda di'kutla."

"Sometimes you just need to throw ideas around with someone separated from the situation. Go ask her."

* * *

><p>Kat back flipped on top of the shoulders of an undead human, shooting his head before jumping to the next set of shoulders. Things weren't looking so good. Troops were being beaten and a few had been killed.<p>

Claws was slashing, biting, and using every limb she had, even her tail to separate heads from bodies, using the split end to her advantage.

Plo Koon was spinning with his lightsaber in a deadly whirlwind. Wolffe stood back-to-back with two other soldiers, shooting frantically.

The next time Kat jumped to reach another set of shoulders, a Twi'lek tackled her and her finger squeezed the trigger. Her shot hit the bulb and the undead on top of her screeched, holding its head before trying to smash her skull with its closed fists.

That was when the teenager saw it. Every time a stray bolt hit the plant, the undead reacted badly. She killed the Twi'lek and grabbed the nearest thermal detonator in reach, once again getting on top of an undead, and threw the cylinder.

"Everybody away from the plant!" She shouted. The troops recognized that tone as a 'move your butts or lose them' one. They scrambled away and a few seconds later, black ooze and gooey plant bits went everywhere, raining down on them.

The undead all arched their backs, freezing as a collective scream left their throats before they all collapsed, once again lifeless. Kat got up from where she'd fallen beside Claws, picking black slime and dead people bits out of her long hair.

Claws shuddered, clearly disgusted by the waste.

"You can_ not _be thinking of licking yourself." Kat cringed.

"Heh, we win." A nearby trooper muttered, his voice carrying a grin.

"A little warning next time?" Another soldier crossed his arms, visor tilted directly at the teenager.

"What, 'away from the plant' wasn't good enough for you?" She retorted.

* * *

><p>"It's possible that the military won't want you leaving, but I doubt they could stop you if you wanted to, and I would help if I could. For example, you could leave during a battle and I could tell High Command you'd been eaten by a beast." Twitch explained.<p>

"That's disgusting." Songbird had a grossed out look on her face.

"It's been known to happen. The point is, whether High Command wants you to or not, you _can _leave the GAR."

"What would we be doing?" Cheshire asked.

"Mothma wasn't specific. But, seeing how she wants an elite squad of people like us, we'll be doing tough jobs. Possible covert."

"And you'll teach us how to survive?" Songbird checked.

"Well, unless you don't want me to train you. But learning how to shoot a gun is recommendable."

"I'll come with you." Cheshire said, the words rushed as though they hurt.

"Chesh, you sure?" Her close sister put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't try to talk me out of it. I'm already barely sticking with this." She hugged herself.

"Heck, like you're getting rid of me that easily. I'm going, too." The girls smiled at each other.

* * *

><p>Twitch and her new companions left the atmosphere of Mandalore. They'd stayed one more day so the younger girls could pack and say their goodbyes. Munin was proud and gave them both two <em>beskade<em> each, saying they'd learn with them quickly.

The forty-five centimeter long swords were already sharp, made of a Mandalorian iron called beskar that was resistant to lightsabers, so the girls would be that much safer in case of an encounter with a Sith or traitorous Jedi.

"Kayfe, mind getting us going toward Alderaan? I want to see these two fight." The astromech beeped in agreement, going about his business while Twitch took her sisters to where passengers were meant to sit. "Do you know anything about combat?" She asked.

"Munin taught us some basic punches, kicks, blocks, stuff like that." Songbird replied.

"Hmm." The lieutenant suddenly kicked at the older girl's head, blocked instantly and in a way that left her exposed to attack. "Amazing how easily the basics can help you win a fight." She threw a jab at Cheshire's head, and she knocked the older girl's arm up, leaving Twitch's ribs unprotected.

"What if we hadn't blocked in time?" Songbird huffed.

"Then I would have stopped before you got hurt. Have you done any sparring before?"

"A bit." The youngest of the three shrugged.

"Go a round." Twitch backed up, giving her sisters room.

* * *

><p>The 104th soldiers had found several more plants like the first black bulb, usually led by Claws to it, and they'd finally stopped to make camp, cleaning black bits off themselves.<p>

"Time to tell the locals to start burning the dead." Kat mumbled to Claws, eating a ration bar on the ground beside her friend. The nexu huffed in agreement. The snap of a twig had both females up, one ready to pounce and the other aiming her guns.

A trooper raised his hands, showing himself as a friendly. "Gotta watch those reflexes of yours. Might shoot somebody."

"Hopefully somebody I don't like." The teenager quipped, holstering her weapons and sitting back down beside Claws. He gestured for permission to sit and was given a nod.

"I seem to remember you not having a nexu last time you were here." He tilted his head.

"I wouldn't think so. I've never been in the 104th before. Twitch was." The trooper paused to frown, looking somewhat confused.

"Um…oh. What's your name?"

"Kat. This is Claws." The nexu got up and began sniffing the trooper, who stayed stock still with a pale face. "She won't hurt you if you don't upset her." The commando added.

"Right. Uh, I'm Ranger." His spine was stiff as the nexu lay down around him, tail curled over his lap.

"Well, she definitely likes you." Kat grinned, finishing off her bar.

"Great. Is there any chance I'm moving any time soon?" He asked.

"Mm, depends on how many of your limbs you want left intact. I'd just sleep there. Nexus actually make very comfortable beds." Claws released a loud breath, saying 'I heard that'.

"Ah, right. Guess I'll just sleep here, then." Ranger noticed a bit of black plant behind the feline's eyes and tentatively pulled it out of her fur, throwing it away. Claws nosed his hand affectionately before resting her head on her paws and drifting off.

"She _really_ likes you. Wonder why." The girl moved closer to stroke her companion's head, hand hovering over one of the gashes from the bird.

"No idea, but you _were _joking about her hurting me, right?" Kat only smirked. "Right?!"

* * *

><p>Twitch had Songbird and Cheshire doing drills over and over, helping them with their stances. She didn't care if their feet were half a centimeter off, she wanted them to be efficient and quick.<p>

After a while, the lieutenant gave them a break while she checked the ship's systems and their course, asking Kayfe if he needed anything, then returned to the passenger area. Before they left Mandalore, she'd changed from the dress to her bodysuit, and secured her left gauntlet. Her right was in the storage locker at the back of the ship.

"Okay, attack me." The soldier ordered. The other girls stared.

"What? But you're injured! You only have one free hand." Songbird protested.

"What's your point? Attack me." Twitch scooped her left hand toward her, raising her eyebrows for emphasis.

Cheshire hung back as Song went after the older clone, but once the commando had tripped and winded the musical teenager and looked up, she was gone. A moment later, a blade gently pressed against the veteran's neck, and she smiled.

"That's a good technique; waiting for the perfect opportunity to beat your opponent. Your greatest asset isn't your strength or combat abilities, it's your stealth. Song, you're much more aggressive. Chesh must love how good a distraction you make." The thirteen-year-old got up, grumbling.

"But, you come in too strong. You aren't invincible. That's something you _have _to be aware of on the battlefield. Spitfire was much like you. She was a ninja, but in a fight she turned into a human-shaped tank. You need to temper your attacks with defense. Sometimes, you can kill enemies by letting them get the upper hand. That being said, Chesh, your sneak-and-defeat tactics are handy, but you _will _have to fight someone head on eventually. We'll work on it."

"You were right about this not being easy." Songbird mumbled.

"It's your first day. You're doing pretty good so far. I'd teach you how to shoot straight, but that'll have to wait 'til we land."

"Heh, yeah," Song grinned, "that might be important."

* * *

><p>At around evening, Ranger woke to find Kat and Claws were gone, somehow leaving without waking him. He shook his head and got ready to guard, finding Kat standing with Claws on guard near his position.<p>

"I was joking." Kat grinned impishly. "Claws would growl or try to hold you down, but she's past the man-eating stages."

"Glad to know. You were right. She _does _make a comfortable bed." The nexu left her friend to nuzzle the older clone, rubbing against him like an ordinary housecat, purring before wrapping herself around him and lying down. Kat scoffed indignantly.

"Well, then, go keep_ him_ company," she joked. "Honestly, you must be sneaking her treats or something. I've never seen her this friendly with a stranger."

"I don't get it, either." Ranger shrugged. Claws licked his right greave.

"Did you see that?" They were instantly soldiers again, scanning the jungle with guns at the ready. Claws stood and growled, tail thrashing before she charged away. A few roars and moments later, the nexu returned carrying the body of a formerly undead corpse.

She spat it out with a disgusted snort.

"More?" Kat asked. Her companion, to Ranger's surprise, nodded. "How many?" Claws stabbed into the ground over and over before stopping.

"What does that mean?" The man looked at the worried teenager.

"It means we're going to be staging a karkin' campaign. There are too many for her to accurately count."

* * *

><p>Songbird and Cheshire slept together, curled up on the floor of the passenger area. They'd been training for hours, either physically or mentally. Twitch was at the piloting station, letting her sisters sleep and Kayfe do a recharge.<p>

The astromech didn't necessarily need to have his power cells refilled, but topping him off seemed wise when anything could happen. Especially when an instant droid-bomb was required. The lieutenant felt somewhat guilty about her back up plan, but it could be necessary.

They would reach Alderaan in a couple of days, so that would be good time for them to train more, learn military protocol, and things such as that. In a couple hours, Kayfe was fully charged.

"Mind watching the ship? I need some sleep." Twitch asked. The small droid whistled reassuringly. "Thanks, bud. I'll give you a polishing later." That made the astromech happy as he plugged into the shuttle.

The commando woke before the other girls, smirked, then decided to start her little test.

"Attack! Arm yourselves, we—augh!" She shouted, howling as though wounded. Cheshire woke with a small shriek and Songbird shot to her feet, putting an arm in front of her sister. The two looked around with wide eyes, hyperventilating.

"Congratulations. If this was a real ambush, you'd both be dead." Twitch crossed her arms.

"Wh-what was that for?!" Songbird asked, voice raised.

"Testing your reactions to an ambush. Eventually, your first instinct when you're woken up by anything dangerous will be to grab the nearest weapon and get to cover. That way, by the time you actually wake up, you'll have a chance of being alive long enough to shoot and survive."

"So you thought giving us heart attacks would help?" Cheshire squeaked.

"If someone raising the alarm gives you a heart attack, we better turn around now. This is also meant to steal your nerves so you can learn to keep calm when surprised." The younger two scowled, starting to level their breathing.

"Great. Can we go back to bed now?" Songbird demanded.

"What, after eleven hours of sleep? You must be fully rested at this point." Twitch headed to the cockpit to check on things, returning to find the rookies on the floor, eyes closed as they tried to sleep. She let out a piercing scream. Getting the same reactions as before.

"What is wrong with you?!" Song shouted, venting her adrenaline rush through her voice.

"Eleven is two or three hours longer than usual, depending on preference. You can't just sleep as long as you like." The younger girls sighed and nodded, brushing their hair before tying it back.

"So what're we doing today?" Cheshire mumbled.

* * *

><p>The fighting was thick and intense, with no breaks at all for the troops to eat or drink. Kat and Claws had managed to fight their way to Plo.<p>

"Sir, we could probably find the plants spawning these things." The teenager panted.

"Go destroy them. Get some detonators." The girl nodded and jumped on Claws' back, who ran straight to the packs that held spare ammo packs and thermal detonators. Once they had what they needed, the two fought their way, either shooting or slashing, to the edge of the battlefield.

The nexu immediately turned left, through thelarge fauna before stopping in front of a black plant that was frantically spitting out undead. Kat blew it up a moment before her friend moved on.

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ okay, you know the drill. It's a school day, so things might go slower than usual. Anyway, hopefully now no chairs will be aimed to high-five my face *looks around worriedly*. <em>


	23. Golden Eyes And A Familiar Face

_A.N. ~ feels like I just did this yesterday. Ugh...I do not own Star Wars or anything that came from the brilliant mind of George Lucas. I own just my ONs._

_Yes, in my head that sounded like I was reciting from a drill manual, but it's still true. Anyway, enjoy the chapter._

* * *

><p>"Look, I had to try escaping eight times before I got away, and after that I was nearly killed by several bounty hunters. Now this quiet, normal, boring life is aaalll mine. Thanks, but I'm good here." Shauna was older than Twitch, probably around eighteen.<p>

"I understand how civilian life must appeal to you. Enjoy your life." Twitch smiled, shaking her older sister's hand before leaving the small apartment, followed by Songbird and Cheshire.

"I can't believe we spent weeks tracking her down just to be told 'no'." Song growled.

"Hey, for all we knew, she could've been the best possible find. Come on, Kayfe is going to be worried if we don't get back soon."

The girls walked into their shuttle, muttering greetings to the astromech. He let out a drooping, unhappy bleep that asked whether they'd found anything.

"Oh, we found her. She just didn't want to come along." Songbird sighed.

"Hey, instead of moping, why don't you two practice with your beskade while I get us some dinner?" Twitch called from the cockpit. Her right arm wasn't in a sling anymore, but it was still wrapped in bandages, since it was only just entering the final healing stages.

The lieutenant left her sisters to their training and brought Kayfe along, since he was insisting she shouldn't be out alone when injured and that he was bored, anyway.

"You're as bad as Tail sometimes, you know that?" She grinned, patting his head as they walked toward the marketplace located eighteen blocks away.

The credit chip Mothma had given Twitch seemed to have no limit to its worth, so the chancellor had likely predicted that the soldier's trip would be a long one.

The girl collected a couple loaves of bread, some cheese, and a few muja fruits. When she and Kayfe returned to the ship, they found Songbird and Cheshire sparring with their swords, but slowly, gliding through the attacks and reacting in slow motion. A good way to get used to swordplay safely.

The commando sliced the bread, cheese, and muja fruit with a knife she'd bought a while earlier, placing the food on improvised trays, cleaned earlier that day.

"Dinner!" She called. Clattering, hurried footsteps, and demands that the other moved could be heard as the younger clones rushed to eat.

* * *

><p>There was a noticeably smaller number of undead on Felucia after the 104th left it. They had contacted the leaders of the towns of immigrants and warned them to burn their dead to cull the population of monsters.<p>

Unfortunately for the troops, shore leave didn't get to come just then. Cholganna was in need of assistance. The Beast Zone had nearly spread to that planet, and a few towns of brave immigrants were in need of evacuation. There simply weren't enough ships to save everyone.

Kat knew Claws was excited and worried. Cholganna was the nuxus' home planet. The teenager's companion was continuously pacing and sweeping her tail back and forth, head down.

"Hey, why don't we go to the gym? You'd have more room there." The soldier offered. Claws only huffed, flicking her head toward the door. She followed her human counterpart out, but did continue to pace in the room the clones used to work out in.

"What's got her tail in a twist?" Ranger asked. He was somewhat an outcast among the other members of the 104th, though for no known reason. He just didn't fit with them. Kat understood that. She and him worked well together, and they'd spent most of their free time on Felucia talking.

"Cholganna is the nexus' home world. Also where Claws was born. She's worried what might happen when the Beast Zone reaches it." Kat replied, stopping her onslaught on a punching bag to reply.

"Oh. Anything that could cheer her up?"

"The end of all beast life, but I doubt we could pull that off any time soon. My guess is she won't be too happy for a while." The two clones sparred for a few rounds, but became bored quickly and decided to wander until lunch came around. Claws followed behind them.

* * *

><p>"Rrgh, she isn't here! Our informant lied. He just wanted our credits." Songbird growled. She had proven to have a surprising temper every so often.<p>

"Hey, cool off. Use your eyes. What do you see?" Twitch instructed.

"Well, I see a band of intruders." A figure landed in front of them, having jumped from one of the low roofs. She held a sort of weapon that started with a foot long, cylindrical handle, turned into a chain, and ended in a large, smooth metal ball.

Cheshire was pushed behind the other girls, and Song began drawing her beskade, but the commando stopped her.

"I apologize, but you have golden eyes and black hair, correct?" She asked.

"What's it to you?" This girl was also older than the veteran, larger than Shauna in terms of their muscular structures, and still had a hostile stance.

"And you got away from Kamino, like we did. We're like you. Except we aren't looking for a fight." The older clone paused.

"You're telling the truth, so I guess I'll believe you. I'm CT-0476."

"CT-3758. You can call me Twitch. This is Songbird and Cheshire." The two girls walked close enough to look each other in the eye.

_Golden eyes and a familiar face. You're ready for a fight,_ Twitch mentally smiled.

"You've got names?" 0476 seemed surprised.

"We were given our names. I'm a soldier in the GAR, and Chancellor Mothma's ordered me to find people like us. She wants us to form an elite team, for what, I wasn't told. But I _did_ hack into her databases, so I know this isn't a blood hunt or anything like that. You have the option to stay here or join us."

"I'll join. I've got nothing good here, anyway. Hey, where'd Cheshire go?" They all turned in circles, but the young rookie was nowhere in sight. She suddenly appeared behind CT-0476 and yawned.

"She doesn't have any other weapons visible." The small clone stated.

"Ah, I've got a couple knives in my boots. It's alright, by the way. I'm friendly." 0476's body language completely shifted, seeming to make her much more approachable. Cheshire smiled, and the three older girls looked away for one second before seeing she was gone again, but appeared beside Songbird a moment later.

"Hey, is Kayfe charging?" Twitch asked.

"No." Songbird and CT-0476 stated at the same time. The trio looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry, I forgot." Song hung her head.

"It's alright, he's still good for a couple more days. How did you know?" The lieutenant turned to her newest recruit.

"Her body language said so. You didn't see it? Her head bowed slightly before she spoke and she bit her lip…sorry, I just know how to read people." She shrugged.

"Well, Read, let's get back to the ship." As they walked, the oldest of the girls caught up with Twitch in the front while the younger two stayed in the back.

"What was that you called me earlier?" She asked.

"Oh, that? I called you 'Read'. Just seemed to fit. If you want to stick with your number or find a different name, that's fine."

"N-no! No, it's fine. It does kinda work for me, doesn't it? Hmm, _Read_."

* * *

><p>"Hey, kiddo. How're you holding up?" Ranger sat next to Kat, who was holding her bent legs to her chest with her chin weighing on her knees.<p>

"She's never done this before. We aren't leaving her behind, right? I'm staying if that's the case." Claws had run off almost the moment they'd landed, leaving a surprised, later distraught, Kat behind. The nexu hadn't appeared for days.

"You can't be serious. The Beast Zone's almost here and even if it wasn't, Cholganna's a nasty place all by itself. You wouldn't last a night." A sharp jab of her elbow to his ribs corrected the older trooper.

"I'd last as long as I had to. Claws has been my friend and guide for years. I'm not abandoning her just because the territory isn't child-friendly."

"It's not human friendly, period."

"Argue with me as much as you like. The only way you're making me leave this planet without Claws is with a heavy dose of anesthetics and some _very _strong restraints, neither of which I'd stay momentarily still for."

* * *

><p>"A kid with golden eyes, black hair? Yeah, I've seen one."<p>

"Really?" Twitch crossed her arms with an incredulous tone. The Quarren put her hands on her hips, getting the impression that the soldier wasn't really interested. Exactly what the lieutenant hoped she would think.

"Yes, really. She happens to be one of my students. Very accident-prone, but she manages to keep her clumsiness at home!" Read narrowed her eyes.

"How clumsy is she?" The seventeen-year-old asked.

"Oh, gets herself a few bruises every now and then. Maybe a break of skin. Once came in with a split lip. Bit herself when she tripped."

"No, no, see, a few shallow, bloody dimples in your lip are what happen when you bite it like that. Now, a split lip is when somebody hits you. Trust me, I've been in enough fistfights to know." Read growled.

"What are you suggesting, that she's been getting into fights? That's ridiculous!" The teacher frowned.

"How well do you know her parents, other students, people like that?" Twitch re-entered the conversation.

"Who are you people? And why is it you look so much like my student?"

"Both are questions that can't be answered. Goodnight." The teenagers left the pub.

"We're following her?" Read guessed.

"Oh, yeah. It's a school day tomorrow. I'm sure we could spot the odd girl in the crowd." Twitch clicked on her comm. "Song, Chesh, we're going to be gone tonight and tomorrow. Lock up the ship. If you get hungry, there're ration bars in the locker."

"Yum. I take it you've got a lead?" The older of the two asked.

"Yep. But there might be some implications. Just hang tight 'til we get back."

An hour later, the Quarren teacher left the building. She didn't realize that two black-clad figures were following her on the roofs.

* * *

><p>"There she is. Short hair, chin length. She's in the black hoodie." Read pointed. "Man, her body language is weird. It's like she's trying to disappear. Like…"<p>

"Like she's hoping nobody will notice or talk to her." Twitch's brow lowered into a scowl. "We wait until school ends. She walked here, she'll probably be walking home. We'll intercept her then."

"This is going to get boring." Read sat cross-legged and placed her chin in cupped hands.

"Yeah, stakeouts are a pain. 'Specially on a roof where we can't stand up without being noticed." Twitch smiled wryly as she got on her stomach, laying her chin on the stone ridge lining the edge of the roof.

After seven hours of alternating positions and taking turns sleeping, a bell finally rang and students left the building in a mass exodus of bored and eager bodies. Spotting the hunched, black-clothed figure of the rogue clone took a little while.

The two soldiers followed her carefully until she entered an alleyway, then they dropped down into view.

"Hey, there. Mind if we talk?" Twitch asked with a smile.

"You're…but, aren't I the only one? How…" The student backed up until she was pressed against a wall. She was about fourteen, but probably nearing fifteen, since she was about the commando's size.

"Hey, we can explain. First off, you aren't a clone of Jango Fett. _Lantana_ Fett is our prime clone. Her DNA got switched with his and…well, it's pretty obvious what happened. Secondly, we have a proposal for you." The veteran explained.

"I-I'm going to be late. My adopted parents don't like it when I'm late. I need to go."

"Wait!" Read stepped forward. "You aren't actually that accident-prone, are you? In fact, your movements are some of the most graceful I've seen."

"I need to go. I can't be late." Twitch heard that edge in her voice. Read may have been an expert in body language, but the lieutenant knew what fear sounded like.

"They hurt you, right? Abuse you?" The student froze. Her body was trembling.

"Oh, kiddo." Read stepped forward and hugged the younger girl, who started sobbing.

"Thought so. What have they done to you?" Twitch asked.

"Hey, can't you give her a moment? She's been through a lot!" The eldest of them snapped.

"Yes, and we can prevent her from going through anymore. Kid, listen to me. I can bust your adopted parents _today_, but you need to listen and talk to me, understand?" The student nodded. "Okay. First, what's your name?"

"Well, the other students call me Rogue, but the people I live with, they-they just call me Mix Up. That's what I am, anyway."

"No." The force of Twitch's voice froze both the other teenagers. "You aren't. You've done nothing wrong. I don't need to know what your daily life is like to say that. Now, I need you to tell me some things, and we'll take care of the rest."

* * *

><p>"Her body language. I thought it was impassiveness. I was wrong." Read commented to Rogue. They were waiting on a roof that had a good view of the windows of the student's house.<p>

"What was it?" The younger clone asked.

"Barely contained rage. She hasn't known you for an hour and she was utterly furious that anyone had laid a hand on you."

"Why?"

"Dunno. She doesn't like bullies, I guess. Understandable."

Inside the house, Twitch was in the process of explaining why her hair wasn't chin-length like Rogue's had been when she'd left that morning.

"You can't even keep your hair right!" A large man shouted.

"Wh-what's wrong with it? It's easier to handle and clean this way." The lieutenant whimpered. She had also become adept at acting, but being in the presence of a hostile, large man after her encounter with the corrupt officer on Naboo wasn't too pleasant.

"Since when did you start thinking, huh? Why can't you be that smart in school, _huh_?!" He struck her on the cheek, but that was what she wanted. The camera she'd planted was recording. Twitch fell and began sobbing, as Rogue said she would in such a situation.

"Please! Please, just stop. Just stop." She begged, gritting her teeth in frustration at acting helpless.

"Oh, you want me to STOP? DO YOU?!" He began kicking the teenager, and soon, she was done. The soldier rolled away, sprang up, and glared.

"So, this is what you've been doing to your adopted daughter. Beaten her, made her feel worthless. I have a special dislike for cowards like you, who think that just because they're larger and stronger than someone, they can do whatever they like to them. A defenseless child!" She shouted the last part.

"What're you going on about, you little brat?" The man crossed his arms.

"You're such a pig. Well, I'll be seeing you around. 'Til next time." Twitch grabbed her camera and walked toward the door.

"Wh-wha…you…LITTLE BRAT!" The commando pivoted, caught the man's arm, and broke it the same way she'd broken the officer's.

"You deserve a firing squad, but that isn't my call to make, so pray we never cross paths after today."

* * *

><p>Claws returned near the end of the evacuation, tackled in a hug by Kat.<p>

"Don't you _ever _go off like that again! You had me terrified!" The teenager scolded. Claws growled, and pawed the ground impatiently. "What is it?" Kat moved back. Her friend lay down and nosed her belly, whined, and got up again. "I…don't get it. What's going on, bud?"

* * *

><p>"She's WHAT?!" Kat howled.<p>

"Cool it, short stuff. I said, your nexu is pregnant." Strings raised his hands appeasingly.

"Preg-how can she be _pregnant_? We aren't even on the Indona continent!" The young clone sat down.

"Hey, nexus are imported all over the galaxy. Why not across seas on their own planet?" The medic reasoned.

"Oh, this is insane. When does she have her cubs?" Claws growled, nosing her companion.

"Ah, that depends on when she conceived. A little over a month is my best guess." Strings rubbed the back of his neck, one hand resting on his thigh.

"How long can she keep fighting and stuff without endangering her babies?"

"I have no idea. Look, I do humanoids, not ferocious five hundred pound feline predators. Look it up when we get to Naboo. That's our next stop."

* * *

><p><em>A.N. ~ and now you have to wait until the next chapter *troll face*. G'bye!<br>_


	24. On His Own

_A.N. ~ a bit of a wait, but it could be worse, I could've had another three-day writer's block. Anyway, not my longest chapter, but over 2000 words, so that should help :)_

* * *

><p>Rogue sat quietly in the passenger area, biting her lip. The local authorities had arrested her adopted parents for child abuse that morning, and that left her few options. She chose the most appealing one and went with Twitch and Read.<p>

Songbird was sparring with Read, and Cheshire was learning some defensive moves from the lieutenant. She definitely had a far more Aikido-oriented mindset than any of her other sisters. Kayfe was in the cockpit, taking care of the ship and watching the activity behind him.

"So where are we going now?" Song panted, struggling to land a blow on Read, who seemed to know exactly what she was about to do before she did it.

"I'm thinking Naboo for weapons, supplies, and a short break. We've been on the move for a while, and you should get to know the Military District before we get going again." The commando grunted.

"Most of that's true, but what else are you doing?" Read asked.

"Visiting some friends, hopefully my brother-by-choice if he's on leave. We were in the same battalion until Mothma sent me to look for you guys."

"A what?" Songbird seemed to flare up.

"Brother-by-choice. Close friend. The bond can sometimes be stronger than the ones birthed siblings share. You guys are more likely to have a sister-by-choice, but it's possible to not have one at all."

"So, who's your brother-by-choice?" Cheshire murmured.

"A commando scout named Tail. We've known each other for nearly three years."

"How did you meet?" Rogue spoke for the first time in hours.

"He was one of the members of a rookie squad I was put in command of. Made a good second, too. Anyway, it's two and a half days' travel to get there, so we'll have plenty of time for more training and briefing on basic military protocol." The other girls, even Rogue and Cheshire, groaned.

* * *

><p>Kat and Claws Strolled off the Triumphant, relaxing in the warm sunlight of Naboo and at the sight of the lush green hills in the distance.<p>

"So, cubs, huh? What'll happen to them when they're born?" Claws nosed her friend and purred. "Do _what_? But you won't get to see them, and they could get killed and…oh, wait. You did this because the Beast Zone might endanger your species, didn't you?" The nexu nodded her massive head.

"How are we?" Ranger asked, looking pointedly at the predator. She purred again and nuzzled him. "So what's the plan for when they're born?"

"She wants me to give them away. To who, I don't know. Agh, I really never thought this would happen." They walked without thinking into the buildings of the Military District, wandering around until they stopped in front of a door.

Kat realized her feet had led her directly to Zeta Squad's quarters. There was no noise coming from inside, and the door was closed as it usually was when the room's occupants weren't at home

* * *

><p>"Naboo in three minutes." Twitch called from the cockpit, waking up her sisters. Kayfe had kept everything in order while the commando slept, then, while the astromech and rookies rested, she had taken over.<p>

"Then wake us up in three minutes!" Someone shouted in reply. The lieutenant smiled at how similar the words had been to what Spitfire would have said.

"Two minutes, fifty seconds and counting." She mumbled to herself. Once they landed, Twitch went to the back of the ship to find her sisters all ready to leave. "Okay, let's get going. If Zeta Squad isn't home, we can use their quarters."

The military complex was just as it had been when the veteran left, but unfortunately, she couldn't reach Tail over their link. He was either at the other end of Theed or not on planet.

"So, wait, we're just walking into the middle of a GAR base?" Read stepped back.

"This district is our on-world home. Get used to it." Twitch smiled.

"Home. Right." The eldest of them frowned.

* * *

><p>"Okay, <em>this<em> is a headache." A trooper groaned, standing at the table holding all five female clones. Twitch grinned.

"Don't worry, Fives, we'll try to behave." She promised.

"Right, well, last time you 'behaved', something blew up." The ARC sat down beside his friend, watched closely by the four new recruits.

"Oops. In case you're wondering, this is Cheshire, Songbird, Read, and Rogue. And he's Fives." She pointed at the man and swatted his fork hand, which was slowly creeping toward her plate.

"You know that you're never sneaking up on her, right?" Song crossed her arms with a smile.

"Been trying for two years and never managed." He grumbled.

"Chesh here could steal you blind, and you'd never even know she was there." Song grinned, patting her sister's head.

"True enough." The ten-year-old held up her friend's slice of bread.

"Oi, I need that!" The two grappled playfully for the food, watched by the other clones, all smiling.

"Sisters-by-choice?" Fives murmured to Twitch.

"Without a doubt." She grinned when Songbird finally managed to reclaim her bread, which had been squashed and twisted and torn, but was still edible.

"And let that be a lesson...that I do not lose my lunch." She scowled.

"You sure about that?" Rogue had slipped the musical teenager's tray beside her own, smirking as she watched a glare and exasperation battle for control over Song's face.

"Why do I even bother eating?" They laughed and all stolen food was returned.

"Well, lookee here. Ain't this just a sweet little family reunion?" Kat put her hands on her hips. Claws began sniffing everyone, purring. Cheshire and Songbird stood up to start rubbing the feline down.

"You guys!" Rogue watched with terrified eyes.

"It's fine. Do you know how bad skrills can be sometimes?" Song scratched under the nexu's chin, getting more purring.

"Uh, sorry, but which kid is the one I came with?" A clone trooper looked around at the girls, two of which were too busy playing with a predator to notice him.

"That one." They all pointed at each other, speaking simultaneously.

"Okay, just so we know, are there any other explosive experts here?" Fives asked.

"Why? Worried you'll lose your hair again?" Twitch grinned. In one incident, she had accidentally burned off the hair on the left side of her friend's head.

"Mainly."

"Don't worry, I'm still the only pyromaniac present. Thus far."

"Hey, Twitch. You might be interested to know that Claws is pregnant." Kat laughed at the dumbstruck expression on the veteran's face.

"Claws."

"Claws." Kat confirmed.

"Is pregnant?" Twitch repeated.

"Exactly."

"Oh."

* * *

><p>"Tail, watch where you're going!" Streak yanked his squad mate away from a chasm's edge. The 659th was in the process of searching for a dragon's egg. Something they absolutely did not want to hatch.<p>

"Right, right. Thanks." He mumbled.

"Hey, Twitch'll be fine. She's better at surviving than any of us, and searching the galaxy won't be that bad with the Seps gone." The mechanic comforted through a private channel in their helmets.

"It isn't Seps I'm worried about. I'm more concerned about how she's taking what happened in that prison."

"Something you wouldn't give us the specifics of. She'll shake it off and keep going. We both know she doesn't let personal feelings get in her way."

"Right. Well, we better kill this thing fast, or Theed's going to be its playground."

* * *

><p>"Whoa!"<p>

"Watch out!" Songbird and Read backpedaled. Around the corner was a griever, which had taken notice and started coming their way.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Twitch asked.

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Song snapped.

"I mean, how are you going to kill it? Decide quickly." Rogue grabbed one of the lieutenant's guns and Cheshire took the other. Read jumped into the hallway and backed up.

"Man, that body language spells bloody murder. It wants us _dead_." She gulped.

"And it needs to _be_ dead before someone gets hurt, so I suggest you come up with a strategy." Twitch watched as Rogue shot at the monster, hitting the wall beside it and showering sparks into its side. Cheshire appeared beside it and shot at its neck and head before climbing on its back and jumping into the vents.

Read darted in and kicked the beast's head twice before jumping backward to avoid its tail. Songbird took that as her cue and drew her beskade, running in and slicing off the griever's front legs. The tail swung and she blocked with her swords, getting knocked into a wall.

Cheshire jumped out of the vents again, this time with her blades at the ready, and sliced the creature's head off, a glare on her face. That ended the fight.

"Ow. That actually hurt!" Song groaned, getting up as she grabbed her beskade.

"Never take a griever's tail head on. That'll get you killed. It's better to dodge or deflect it." Twitch coached, retrieving her guns from the other girls. "But you killed it in the span of two and a half minutes. Good job."

"How do we clean up this mess?" Rogue asked, wrinkling her nose at the stench.

"Walk around that corner, wait five seconds, come back around." The commando and rookies did so, and when they came back, they found the body was gone, along with any traces of it.

"Whoa." Cheshire looked at her swords and frowned. "Wait, why is there still griever slime on these?" She demanded.

"No idea. That just happens. But at least we don't have to take care of something larger than Claws."

* * *

><p>"How are we gonna tell her?" Hazard mumbled.<p>

"Bluntly. She wouldn't want us dancing around the subject." Streak sighed.

"Well, she probably won't be back for a while, so that makes it even harder for him to survive. If she was here, she'd take on every battalion in the GAR to protect him." They walked into their quarters, followed by a quiet Darys, and instantly noticed that something was off.

Unfamiliar duffels and a mace were present. But there was also a black cloak that they all recognized.

"She's back. Wonderful." The Umbaran groaned.

"Who's back?" They turned with starts to see Twitch, Songbird, Read, Cheshire, and Rogue.

"Uh, mind if I talk to you, Twitch?" Streak asked. She led him down the hallway and around a corner.

"What is it?" That face. She knew that face. The lieutenant had seen that expression before. "Where's Tail?"

"Comatose. We were fighting a dragon and it hit him. The medics say he could wake up any time. Today or in twenty years. He may never recover." She sat down, biting her lip. "Twitch?" Her fist slammed against the wall.

"He's already been nearly dead four times! This can't be happening…" She got up, cradling her sore hand. "Where is he?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, vod. You get in all the best messes, you know that? Leave it to you to go this far just so you can sleep in." Twitch said, walking to her close brother's bedside. For some reason, they were in a hospital, which made little sense since a GAR medical bay would have been more appropriate. Luckily, hospital rooms offered privacy.<p>

_Tail? Tail, hear my voice and feel my presence. You're awake, Tail. Come back, _she entered his mind and began searching for the scout's consciousness.

"You're gonna make this hard, aren't you? Well, I don't have time for your stubbornness. Wake _up_!"

* * *

><p>Keeli stopped at the door to Tail's room. Twitch was hunched over in a stool with her back to the entrance, facing her brother's bed, head bowed.<p>

"How long've you been here?" Was the first thing his mind could lock on to.

"Sixteen hours." Her voice grated, and as the captain walked closer, he saw she was crying. "I can't help him."

"Not even with your...trick?" Keeli, for the first time, realized just how small Twitch was when his hand encompassed her shoulder.

"This isn't like the demon at _Mainframe_. That was when his consciousness was still prominent. This time…his mind is just empty. He's on his own."


	25. Epilogue The Second

_A.N. ~ hey, don't worry. This isn't the end of the beast war and it certainly isn't the end of the series. But, while I get the next story up, I have a couple one-shots to hold you over if you're interested. You know where to find them :)_

* * *

><p>The last thing Twitch wanted to do was leave Tail's side, but it was still her duty to find the remaining rogue clones. She somberly boarded the ship with Read, Songbird, Cheshire, and rogue. Kayfe followed them on.<p>

Kat and Zeta Squad had said their goodbyes and Keeli had promised his former second that he'd do everything he could to protect Tail.

Back at the hospital, just as the shuttle holding Twitch took off, the scout's eyes snapped open and he gasped, sitting up.

_Twitch?_


End file.
